Meghan Markle Could Know Thursday If Her Lawsuit Will Go to Trial

Meghan Markle may have to face her father in court soon. The royal family member is suing the Mail on Sunday's publishers Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy over a personal letter she sent her dad, Thomas Markle. On Jan. 19, Markle applied chose to have the case decided by a summary judgement, which means her claim can be resolved by a judge's ruling instead of having a full trial.

On Thursday, the Duchess of Sussex could find out if Judge Justice Warby plans to rule in her favor. If Warby were to do so, this would mean that her friends, family and former Kensington Palace staff will not be required to testify in court, according to PEOPLE. However, if the judge ruled against her, everyone will have to testify and Markle could sit in London's High Court where her father will be too in fall of 2021. Warby could decide to rule on certain elements of the case or could decide to postpone his ruling to a later date.

In 2019, Markle and husband Prince Harry sued the outlet over publishing the letter "unlawfully" when it was meant to be a private message to Thomas. In the document, the actress's team called the letter "private and confidential." Her attorney's continued to explain that the letter was "obviously private correspondence" that detailed "her intimate thoughts and feelings about her father's health and her relationship with him at that time." They also accused the Mail's publishers of choosing to "deliberately omit or suppress" parts of the letter and claimed they "intentionally distorted or manipulated" its meaning.

The couple also accused the publisher of not warning her prior to the article's publication. "The claimant intended the detailed contents of the letter to be private, and certainly did not expect them to be published to the world at large by a national newspaper, and without any warning." The case was supposed to start on Jan. 11, but it was pushed back after Markle requested that it be delayed.

Markle isn't the only one who has issues with the outlet. Harry received "substantial damages" from Associated Newspapers who claimed he "turned his back" on the British Armed Forces when he and his wife stepped down from their royal duties in March 2020. However, the claims were accepted by the outlet in front of the High Court in London as they took responsibility. "Today, The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline publicly admitted in open court that they pushed a completely false and defamatory story," a spokesperson for the Duke said. "They've apologized for questioning The Duke of Sussex's commitment to the Royal Marines and British Armed Forces. The truth is that The Duke's commitment to the military community is unquestionable."