Last week, lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex and lawyers for the Mail already had a pretrial meeting/hearing on the books with the judge. Then Meghan’s lawyers seemingly stunned everyone by asking for a delay with the trial, which was scheduled to begin in mid-January. As I said, my first thought was “pandemic-related.” My second thought was “maybe she’s pregnant.” We still don’t know the “confidential” reason why Meghan has asked for a delay, but the delay was granted, and the trial has been tentatively scheduled for October or November 2021. Now Vanity Fair has some added context:
At the hearing, a number of different matters went before High Court Justice Mark Warby, and according to the Daily Mail, it was followed by a private hearing that a court order said was “in order to protect the confidentiality of some of the facts put in evidence.”
When Warby granted the postponement, he said the “primary basis” for the ruling was a “confidential” matter. “The right decision in all the circumstances is to grant the application to adjourn,” he added. “That means that the trial date of January 11, 2021 will be vacated and the trial will be refixed for a new date in the autumn.”
At the Thursday hearing, Meghan’s legal team also filed a motion for summary judgement, in order to skip a jury trial. That ruling is still outstanding, and according to ITV, it will be taken up at a hearing on January 12. If the request is granted, neither Meghan nor her friends would have to appear in person to testify.
It’s not clear if the confidential matter that Warby relied on had anything to do with the September ruling that information from the biography Finding Freedom would be admissible when the matter finally comes to trial. A source previously told the Telegraph that Meghan’s decision to request summary judgement came because of the added strain of the biography’s inclusion. “It is a massive expansion of the case,” the source said. “The volume of additional evidence, disclosures and research required could not meet the original timetable.”
Meghan’s lawyers also filed an appeal of the Finding Freedom decision at the Thursday hearing. According to the Sun, Warby denied this appeal in open court.
A source close to Meghan told Vanity Fair that an earlier conclusion to the matter would be preferable. “What started as a lawsuit over a private letter has escalated into something much bigger,” the source said, “and there is a feeling that a line needs to be drawn.”
I agree that a line needs to be drawn – all the Mail has tried to do from the start is complicate a relatively simple copyright issue. We’re now at the point where the Mail is using Meghan’s lawsuit against THEM to smear her and search for information about Finding Freedom. “Sources close to Meghan” also spoke to Elle Magazine about the request for summary judgment, saying: “We do not believe that the defense’s case has [a] chance of succeeding, and do not believe there is a compelling reason for trial…We are confident in our case and therefore believe it should be determined on a summary basis, and will make that case at the hearing in January.” Yeah… I’m not so sure. I very much doubt that they’ll get their summary judgment.
Meanwhile, this whole delay has driven Toxic Thomas Markle out of his hole and he issued a statement which is just a litany of bullsh-t:
“I am a realist and I could die tomorrow,” Thomas said in the statement. “The sooner this case takes place the better.“ Thomas, who missed his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry due to a heart attack and stents being installed, asked the Court to proceed on the initial timetable. Thomas’ comments were revealed in a statement provided by Elizabeth Hartley, group legal director of Associated Newspapers, and published in the Daily Mail. Thomas gave her permission to share his remarks.
Thomas said, “This case is causing me anxiety, and I want to get it over with as quickly as possible. I am 76 years old and as a result of my heart condition and surgery, I am on blood thinners, which have had an effect on my breathing. I am unable to walk far or up many stairs. I can’t take more than 30 or 40 steps without getting winded and needing to slow down until I have caught my breath. I have had a cold for three to four years, which is connected to my heart and lung issues. I am clinically obese, and I have gained more weight during the past months because I have been unable to leave my house to take any exercise. I am pre-diabetic.”
Oh well, dude, maybe you shouldn’t have been such an unhinged prick and tried to sell out and damage your daughter for no reason at all. Make no mistake: Toxic Tom started all of this horses-t that he’s now claiming is killing him. Hoisted by his own petard.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, The Sun, WENN.
So he’s so ill he can’t come to his daughters wedding yet can come to testify against her?
Saying “he’s a piece of shit” isn’t strong enough of a statement
He is really evil.
Yes he is truly evil. I know he’s her father and it’s difficult to cut those bonds but I hope Meghan is never tempted to ever attempt a relationship with this man in the future no matter what.
My god whenever I see a comment by him, I hear it in my mother’s voice. These narcissists must share their playbook at their monthly meeting. Here’s hoping H&M have cut him out completely, now and always
The last time I saw my father was at my grandmother’s funeral. We have been estranged for 20 years and he asked if he could visit because the next funeral could be his. I assured him I’d see him there.
Amazing strength Mac. Good for you.
Yes, did we need to see his hideous greasy face again? And can we please drop the “he had a heart attack?” We all know it’s BS and that the press paid him to stay home. It was a most heinous lie to justify his staying home and to heap even more emotional abuse on Meghan. Yes, the British press paid him to stay away in hopes that Meghan would rush to his side and postpone the wedding. I think that’s what he’s so miffed about, that she DIDN’T rush to his side. The joke was on the British press and Sr. Markle and the wedding went through. I foolishly thought this dung-heap had finally shut his mouth for good. Silly me.
A vile creature.
I agree, ‘POS’ isn’t strong enough and it pisses me off that these mags, VF and Elle, are even giving him media coverage. The complicity of the entire entertainment and tabloid news media disgusts me.
Malignant narcissistic jerk. This guy is a less well known clone of the president. He hurts everyone in his path
He can go straight to hell.
He can go straight to hell.
Meh. This was probably written by the Daily Mail lawyers and co-signed by him. He’s full of shit.
I have seen him be consistently shitty that I don’t doubt he wrote this himself. No doubt he gets paid for it though. I hope he costs the Daily Mail a pretty penny.
He can’t even be compelled to testify. He could just refuse. He isn’t a party to the case and a third party witness foreign subpoena could also be litigated first through Mexican/American courts. They do not extradite you to be a third party witness in a civil suit.
@Bluj1515 … I guess it depends upon whether or not the Daily Mail paid him to show up and testify. If so, there is no way he can get around taking the stand on the DM’s behalf.
The Daily Mail could sue him to get their money back but that would have no bearing on Meghans case. Fat chance of that happening.
what is zoom for, you stupid wanker? Testify from your porch. No one will miss you in the courtroom.
If I thought I could die any day the last thing on my mind would be a lawsuit. He and the DM must not have presented any compelling evidence of his “impending death” since the judge seems to have ignored it. I manage to exercise in my house when the weather isn’t good for hiking or walking. Tell him to get a wii fit; they’re not that expensive now.
He’s still on their payroll so he has to pay the piper.
fuck this man!! anyway, I’m optimistic that Meghan is pregnant 🤞🤞
” Hoisted by his own petard.” Thank you, Kaiser, for this!! I love that saying.
You would think that someone who is “suffering” from all of these complications like Thomas here, and who doesn’t want a prolonged trial, would push for a summary judgment…no?!🤔🙄
If Thomas is on the Fail’s payroll can that be brought up in court to make him an unreliable witness?
He’s publicly admitted to being a liar. He’s already an unreliable witness. He’s just trying to get his pound of flesh (and money from the Fail, I’m sure).
He’s been close to death for the last 2 years. No loving father would willingly want to testify against his child. Meghan did the right thing when she cut him off.
Sometimes I wonder, what type of parent will willingly do this to their child? if he can do this to his own blood, what about those who aren’t related to him?
He is despicable; I don’t know if Meg will ever forgive him; maybe she already has but I hope she never allows him back in her life
Because I know for certain that my father would never do anything like this to me. I know that he would rather die that hurt me in anyway, it’s difficult to know that there are parents out there like Markle, but I know for certain that there are and it’s so unfortunate for those who are forced to deal with them.
@BnLurkN4eva —- Exactly; for those who have such a parent, what do you do? do you cut them off? do you pretend they don’t exist? how do you ignore them? for Meg it is worst because she is a public figure; how can one renounce a father or mother?
@VS, they have to do what Meghan is doing eventually. You see even though she’s such a public figure, she had no choice at some point but to go no contact with him. If she had made any contact with him, the media would have had that information and all the details would have been available for public consumption. This woman has had to make the decision to just take whatever hit some people who wish to pollyanna at her about, but he’s your father in order to have some level of peace.
@BnLurkN4eva — I cannot imagine ever doing something so shitty to my child or doing what W did to my own sibling……….I just don’t get that type of narcissism and jealousy
Wow he’s just SUCH a shitty father. What is his endgame!
Control – he wants to control her Meghan, her life and her family. Plus he’s mega butt hurt that he was not treated like royalty from the RF simple because he is Meghan’s father.
He does things like this to get her attention, to make her run after him – he is trying to bully/manipulate his way back into her life. He has proven that he cannot ever be trusted and now he has nothing to lose with this continued whining paid for by the Fail. Meghan was giving him money – that stopped and now the Fail is.
I don’t believe a word from that narcissist. If he’s ill like he says he is, he can disclose his medical records to prove it. Otherwise, he should STFU.
Drama Tom all over again.
I really wonder what his endgame is? Is it just the narcissistic “if you won’t give me attention I’ll try to ruin your life?” Does he really want a relationship with her at this point? For someone who claimed at one point to care about his image, he’s the epitome of the toxic father, and would be on any public poll of worlds worst fathers. Is he a racist who can’t stand that his black daughter has risen above him? Does he get joy out of causing her pain? Is that the only source of joy for him?
He’s a shameless grifter who figured out he can make a buck harassing his daughter.
I think he just wants money. FF hinrs at him being terrible with money and I believe that was the main factor with everything that’s going on. He kept focusing on how Meghan wasn’t supporting him anymore in the past.
I don’t think he’s a racist. I actually think Meghan was his favourite child given how highly she spoke of him and how he was the one she credited for making her a feminist activist, proud of her biracial identity and even loving her freckles.
Something probably happened along the way and Thomas expected a lot of money. There are definitely gaps in the story. My guess was that Meghan and Harry didn’t include him the way they did for Doria because they didn’t trust him at the time or some health issue or his pathetic children got in the way. And then he was bought by tabloids and yada yada yada.
No, there were problems before the wedding and I think one of the ways she dealt with him was always exaggerating his contribution when she spoke on the national stage. I’m not saying she didn’t mean what she said about him saying some wise things to her when she was young, but my guess is she always had to speak of him, or he would be upset. Her mother didn’t need Meghan constantly mentioning all Doria did as a mother to support her daughter, but Thomas did and Meghan managed with him by always mentioning whatever positive she could. As for Meghan being his favorite – she is the youngest and the only one of his children considerate enough to put up with him long after it was clear he was a destructive force. The man is not on speaking terms with any of his children and grand children, he is toxic.
I agree with everything except the fact that Meghan felt like she had to praise him to keep him happy. I don’t see it. She has also praise Doria before the wedding. Also her praise about Thomas was very specific-him asking her to send the letters to the manufacturers, him creating a biracial doll set for her, him telling her that her freckles are like stars. Doria has also gotten a lot of praise, but more so about her gentleness, how cool she is, how helpful she is with the family. So my guess isn’t that she had to praise him, but rather, it’s her way of dealing with his flaws (by sticking to things that happened). My relationship with my dad is the same
Her ex best friend that sold her out mentioned that Meghan had a complicated relationship with her dad during their friendship. I do think she was his favourite chils because her half siblings are way too fking jealous and petty, and they dont seem to have a relationship with him. But of course, I’m sure Thomas loved her more when she started sending that Suits money. But I don’t buy that narrative that Thomas was always a shit dad. More like he was a problematic person that tried his best for Meghan as a child, and because of that, Meghan feels that ambivalence between loving him and wanting to protect him…and also understanding he is manipulative af (which is why only Meghan seemed to be the one supporting him)
He’s a typical Narc parent. He just wants to destroy her so that she comes running back to him. He hasn’t cottoned onto the fact that will never happen. He doesn’t respect boundaries, rather sees this as another means to get her back. Crazy but there you go.
I cringed so hard at that. It’s steeped in guilt about things that have nothing to do with Meghan. And who goes public with a litany of health ailments like that? Not an ounce of dignity. Make it stop.
It gives me great pleasure he will never see his Mountbatten-Windsor grandchildren.
Half sis Samantha allegedly stated before the wedding that they expected to be put up in castles and given a coat of arms and be treated as well as the Middletons. That didn’t happen. This is payback, imo.
Have the Middletons really been treated all that well? They aren’t put up in castles or anything, are they? Anybody can buy a coat of arms or research family history and come up with one. What’s the big deal with that?
Samantha thought she’d occasionally get invited to things and get to parade around in a fancy hat like Carole. All expenses paid of course. If she was expecting that she should have become Meghan’s biggest cheerleader instead of basing her at every turn. She let her jealousy get the best of her so now she can go suck it.
The Middletons got a security upgrade at their home paid for by taxpayers so it would be safe for Kate to visit. And over a decade of discounts for things offered to the royals.
That slag actually thought that her & Jr.’s names would go on MEGHAN’S coat of arms because they were Thomas Markle’s children. I haven’t stopped laughing since. I’ve got the screenshot of her pressing Marlene Koenig about it.
Yeah, it’s Meghan’s fault that your fat ass is pre-diabetic. If you ran your body through as much exercise as you run your mouth, and stuffed your flapping mouth with healthy food, there wouldn’t be an issue. And you’ve had a cold for three or four years?! You should get yourself to the pretend hospital pronto.
Typical narcissist, thinking that the world revolves around him and trying to score pity-points. The only thing to do with this evil man, who has broken his daughter’s heart countless times and made her wedding and childbirth all about him, is to grey rock him. Don’t give him the oxygen to carry on lying and manipulating.
-His so called heart attack? They don’t use stents and the like to treat an attack, more to correct misfiring electrical signals. This is a procedure that has to be booked and scheduled in (I know, because I’m awaiting an appointment for catheter ablation). I’m betting that Toxic Tom scheduled this procedure to deliberately coincide with Meghan’s wedding because, as a malignant bully, he was handed his arse by Harry and was then too frightened to face him. Toxic Tom always does things at a distance.
All his behavior leading up to the wedding was design to have the wedding called off, Meghan called him bluff and he’s been trying to ruin her life ever since with the help of the BM. I can’t believe at one point I had good feelings about this man. When Meghan spoke of him in her UN speech he sounded like such a great man, but I guess she was exaggerating his better qualities when she was growing up. I know many adult children try usually unsuccessfully to see their parents through rose colored lenses as a coping mechanism.
The thing is, Meghan didn’t even call him bluff. The texts in the court docs showed that she reached out and told him not to worry/not to be embarrassed about the pap shots. Other texts also showed her insisting that all he had to do was get on the plane, they’ll take care of everything.
Even when he had a heart attack she asked him for details and if she could send over her people. He replied that he was recovering in a motel i believe.
His behaviour was so strange.
Maybe we should set him up with McConaughy’s mom.
Good one.
Wait… is he saying the trial should go b/c it would be tragic if he died before he got to testify against his daughter and for the racist tabloid that constantly smears her?
That’s horrifying, even for this waste of humanity.
The Fail is clearly paying for his testimony.
That whiner. He’s giving Trump a run for the money for the Toxic Old A-hole award. I guess Trump still wins because he’s screwing over the whole country instead of just his own flesh and blood.
Well in his deathbed he still trying to smear his daughter reputation and take side on his daughter enemy.
Just go on and die, your daughter life will be better without you.
I actually hope he stay alive until hopefully the BM decide to move on from stalking Meghan and he is less useful to them. Should he die now Meghan would be attacked no matter what she decides to do about his funeral. She attends, they’ll attack her for showing up when she wanted nothing to do with him in life. She doesn’t show up and she’s attacked as heartless. Let him live so Meghan doesn’t have to deal with him amid all the other things she has to deal with.
I have to agree with you on this. He would only lie if he’s asked to testify anyway. He’s making it all about himself when it’s the MoS that’s on trial, not Sr. And all of his health problems are self-inflicted. Zero sympathy. He’s a lying, manipulative and greedy monster. Anyone that can barely limp to his car to drive to the store for smokes is not going to travel to England. What’s even funnier is that he and the tabloids thought pictures of this fat schlub on an exercise bike outdoors, a towel around his neck, carrying a water bottle and weights was going to convince people he was “getting in shape?” God, how cheesy. He was deliberately set up by the press because they planned to expose him right before the wedding to humiliate Meghan. Dollar signs is all he saw and they neatly trapped him. Fool.
People have Been Speculation for months now that the daily mail was going to used Thomas as a Witness against Meghan . So Now everyone knows for a fact he will be a witness against his own daughter he is willing going to perjury himself to help the daily mail who has a activity campaign against his daughter how is the father of year again how anyone within out compassions can say Thomas is a victim of his own doing . All he had to do was keep quiet and he would be in his grandsons and daughter life instead he choose to participate in some of the most vile racist bullying of his own daughter for a few dollars and attention from a few people who active hate his own daughter for the color of her skin .
I don’t even know why it’s so important to him to have this twisted dramatic showdown with his daughter. He was the one who stopped returning her calls and refused to see her and meet her husband or go to her wedding. Regardless of the outcome, hope there is a summary judgement and this nonsense is over with.
Notice the judge didn’t care for TT’s medical concerns? I think the judge thinks Bad Dad is full of BS. I also think Meghan’s lawyers have dirt on him and the court knows it because it’s on file.
He was clinically obese before Meghan even started dating Harry. If you’ve had a cold for two years straighter ho see a doctor about it. If you’re pre-diabetic takes steps to improve your diet. None of that has anything to do with Meghan. If a bird crapped on this man’s head he would make it about Meghan.
I wonder if Samantha doesn’t handle all of this now i.e. is the ‘voice’ issuing all media replies.
It would make sense that Tom would agree that she could monetize/play up the situation best, as she works in PR.
Would explain a lot.
No way, they have zero relationship outside of “I need money.” Samantha can’t stand him.
The only thing left to say to this awful man is “Cry more.”
What a miserable sod. It’s not enough that he betrayed his daughter & sold her belongings and private pictures to the highest bidder knowing how it was torturing her in public whilst pregnant but now is coming out of the woodworks to cash in AGAIN & to try intimidate her into dropping this case. I wish he gets his karma soon.
I think karma has come for this monster. First I thought the Fail is paying him but it makes more sense to have leverage over him. The Fail has receipts on Dad, Sam and Jr. and probably told Bad Dad to cooperate or the Markles will be blown out of the water with their dirty deeds exposed. The Fail doesn’t have to pay a cent.
I get sickened looking at the comments sections with people “pitying” Tom Markle and how “mean” Meghan was to him. So awful.
Those are the people who supposedly sleuthed and found that Doria was either a criminal or she is taking money from Charles. Aaand they still act like theyy aren’t racist.
He’s not only *willing*, but he’s AVID to testify AGAINST his own daughter and, classic narcissist, acting abused by his angel postponing his time in the spotlight. THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU, asshole. My god. My mother isn’t *this* horrific, but the behaviors, victimhood, “what about meeeee?” just makes my blood boil every damn time. Sorry. Triggers.
Tom, do you think you could try and hurry up. You’re using up oxygen that somebody worthwhile needs.
He reminds me so much of my late mother-in-law. My favorite thing about her is that she is dead.