A Manhattan federal judge appears poised to allow a sex-abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew to move forward after a remote hearing on the embattled royal’s motion to dismiss the suit Tuesday.
During the virtual hearing, a lawyer for the Duke of York and an attorney for accuser Virginia Giuffre argued over language in a settlement agreement inked in 2009 that Andrew’s lawyers have said shields him from legal liability.
The secret agreement, which was unsealed Monday, was signed by millionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and Giuffre. Andrew’s lawyers have said it blocks Giuffre from taking legal action against “other potential defendants,” including Andrew.
In her lawsuit, Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew at least three times — in London, New York and on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
Judge Lewis Kaplan is presiding over the suit between Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre. Robert Strauss Center for Intern
Virginia Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew at least three times.
Guiffre was directed to engage in the sex acts by Epstein and his cohort Ghislaine Maxwell — and was a minor on at least two of the occasions, the papers say.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the case, said at Tuesday’s hearing that there could be a number of interpretations of the language in the settlement.
The jurist also raised another passage in the agreement that bars third parties from using it to escape being sued.
“The defendant in this case … is within the category of people who are not entitled to use the terms of the settlement,” Kaplan said as he was listening to an argument by Giuffre’s lawyer, David Boies.
Boies replied, “The very terms of the contract preclude …” before Kaplan interrupted, “Use by a third party.”
Boies responded, “Exactly, which is Prince Andrew.”
The sex-abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew is poised to move forward.BACKGRID
But the prince’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, argued Tuesday that the language was intended to release a broad range of people from legal liability related to Giuffre’s claims against Epstein and his associates.
Brettler repeatedly raised the reference to “other potential defendants,” arguing that the phrase extended to Prince Andrew because he is someone who was not named in Giuffre’s suit against Epstein but could have been a defendant, given the “virtue of the allegations.”
Still, the judge questioned if that was the only interpretation of the language – and whether it was reasonable to conclude Giuffre actually signed the pact with the intent for it to be narrow.
Lawyers for the Duke of York and Giuffre argued over language in a 2009 settlement between the accuser and Jeffrey Epstein. Steve Parsons/Pool Photo via AP, File
“The other party’s point of view might well have been to give the narrowest release she could give,” Kaplan said.
The judge said he would soon issue a decision in writing about Prince Andrew’s motion to dismiss the suit.
Guiffre claims in her suit that one time, Maxwell made her sit on Andrew’s lap while he touched her in Epstein’s New York mansion.
In her lawsuit, Giuffre said she was directed to engage in sex acts by Epstein and his cohort Ghislaine Maxwell as a minor. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
“During this encounter, Maxwell forced Plaintiff, a child, and another victim to sit on Prince Andrew’s lap as Prince Andrew touched her. During his visit to New York, Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff to engage in sex acts against her will,” the suit states.
Giuffre “feared death or physical injury to herself” if she disobeyed Epstein and Maxwell’s orders, the suit states.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other counts Dec. 29 in Manhattan federal court. She faces up to 65 years in prison at her sentencing.
Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
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