January 1, Court Tosses Meghan Markle Defamation Suit Quickly

Wyatt’s Take

• Court throws out Samantha Markle’s defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle
• Judge found accusations were personal opinions—not verifiable facts
• Lawsuit dismissed with prejudice, bringing finality to the dispute

The latest courtroom drama from the royal sidelines has wrapped up, and this time it’s Meghan Markle walking out the winner. A judge down in Florida has ruled in favor of Prince Harry’s wife, shutting down a defamation lawsuit brought by her half-sister, Samantha Markle.

Judge Charlene Honeywell tossed the lawsuit with prejudice—meaning Samantha can’t give it another go. She was trying to get $75,000 out of the Duchess of Sussex, claiming Meghan defamed her in public interviews, like that highly talked-about chat with Oprah Winfrey.

The judge said the facts just weren’t there, finding the statements at the center of the lawsuit were really more “opinions” about how Meghan viewed her own childhood. “As a reasonable listener would understand it, [the] Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings. Thus, the Court finds that Defendant’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof,” she wrote.

Meghan’s lawyer, Michael J Kump, said simply, “We are pleased with the court’s ruling dismissing the case.” That’s all we’ve heard from Meghan’s camp as the drama gets put to bed.

Samantha, who shares a father with Meghan, has long claimed the duchess smeared her when Meghan said she “grew up as an only child”—something Samantha insists wasn’t true. She also took issue with claims Meghan made about Samantha changing her last name to get attention when Meghan started dating Harry.

The lawsuit even pointed at parts of the book Finding Freedom as damaging, but the judge ruled months ago that Meghan can’t be held liable for words printed in a book she didn’t write.

With this ruling, the judge made it clear: family drama alone isn’t enough to win in court. Samantha’s complaints boil down to hurt feelings and disagreements over what should be private family matters—not matters for a federal lawsuit.

Wyatt Matters

In Middle America, we know family squabbles happen, but most of us believe in settling things around the kitchen table—not dragging them through the courts or on TV. This lawsuit getting tossed is a reminder that opinion and personal memories shouldn’t be policed by the legal system. Seems to me, folks have better things to do than fight over words. Let’s keep our focus where it matters: on faith, family, and the values that bring us together.

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