Prince Andrew’s lawyers are set to put forward a motion to dismiss the sex assault civil lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, after her $500k settlement with Jeffrey Epstein was made public.
The Duke of York is being sued by Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, in a lawsuit in which she claims he “committed sexual assault and battery” upon her when she was a teenager.
Judge Lewis A Kaplan, who is presiding over the civil case, will hear arguments from Andrew’s legal team for the case to be dismissed during a video teleconference today.
Prince Andrew is being sued by Virginia Giuffre
Who’s who in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
It comes after a 12-page document was made public yesterday, which revealed the terms of a $500,000 (£370,000) payout from convicted sex offender Epstein to Ms Giuffre.
The document said Ms Giuffre had agreed in 2009 to “release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge” Epstein and “any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant”.
Andrew B Brettler, who represents the Duke of York, has argued that Ms Giuffre had entered into a “settlement agreement” that would end her lawsuit.
He previously told a New York hearing the agreement “releases Prince Andrew and others from any purported liability arising from the claims Ms Giuffre asserted against Prince Andrew here”.
Ms Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies believes the settlement is “irrelevant to the case against Prince Andrew” because it applied to people involved in litigation in Florida, which did not include him.
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Epstein’s $500k settlement revealed
What are the ‘factual allegations’ stated in Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit?
Ms Giuffre is seeking unspecified damages, but the sum could reportedly be in the millions of dollars.
She has claimed she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with Andrew when she was aged 17, which made her a minor under US law.
Andrew, who has not been charged with any criminal offences, has vehemently denied all the allegations against him.
Judge Kaplan denied a motion from Andrew’s lawyers last week to halt the civil proceedings while the issue of where Ms Giuffre lives is dealt with.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and Andrew’s friend, is facing spending the rest of her life in prison after she was convicted last month of helping to procure teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.