In a surprising legal setback, Meghan Markle has been pulled back into court by a close family member.
On Friday, July 18, the Mirror reported that the Duchess of Sussex is once again set to face a court hearing as her half-sister Samantha Markle has made another move to drag her back into a legal battle.
The Suits alum’s estranger older half-sister is trying to sue her for defamation – a move she also made back in 2022, after Meghan gave a bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey alongside her husband, Prince Harry.
According to the outlet, the mother of two’s legal team has been ordered to attend a court hearing in person at the United States Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 9, 2025, to submit their response to an appeal filed by Samantha.
Both parties have been sent a legal document that states, “The Court has determined that the cases listed on the attached calendar are to be orally argued. Counsel for each party must present oral argument unless excused by the Court for good cause shown.”
At the hearing, both Meghan and Samantha’s lawyers will be allotted 15 minutes each to present their arguments to the presiding judge, who has not been named yet.
The appeal comes after Samantha Markle’s 2022 defamation case against Meghan was dismissed.
In her initial lawsuit, the 60-year-old half-sister of the Duchess claimed that her reputation has been tarnished by Meghan and Harry’s explosive tell-all interview with Oprah in 2021.
"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," wrote US District Attorney Judge Charlene Honeywell while dismissing the 2022 lawsuit.
For those unaware, Samantha Markle is Meghan Markle’s older half-sister from their father, Thomas Markle Sr.’s first marriage.
