A federal judge in New York has ruled that the civil case against Prince Andrew can proceed, after it was determined that a 2009 deal signed by Virginia Giuffre convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein did not protect the royal figure from being sued.
Giuffre alleges that Epstein arranged for Andrew to sexually abuse her when she was a minor. This reportedly occurred on three separate occasions.
Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, stating that he did not participate in such acts, nor did he witness such behavior.
According to NPR, at a January 4 hearing, Andrew's lawyers argued that the $500,000 settlement reached between Epstein and Giuffre in 2009 protected him from such a lawsuit.
Judge Lewis A Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled though that the settlement, which was made public earlier this month, was too vague in its wording to protect Andrew from the lawsuit against him.
The deal states that Giuffre will "forever discharge" second parties, defined as Epstein and his agents, attorneys, predecessors, successors, heirs, administrators, assigns and/or employees, as well as any "potential defendant[s]."
During the court hearing, Andrew B. Brettler, the prince's lawyer, stated that the phrase "potential defendant" protected Andrew from Giuffre’s lawsuit.
The judge disagreed though, arguing that the phrase was too vague.
"What is a 'potential defendant' as distinguished from a 'defendant'?" Kaplan asked, according to Adam Klasfeld of the Law & Crime website.
In his 46-page ruling on the motion to dismiss the case, Kaplan said the 2009 agreement "cannot be said" to benefit the Duke of York.
Kaplan said his ruling did not consider the "defendant's efforts to cast doubt on the truth of Ms Giuffre's allegations, even though his efforts would be permissible at trial".
"In a similar vein and for similar reasons, it is not open to the court now to decide, as a matter of fact, just what the parties to the release in the 2009 settlement agreement signed by Ms Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein actually meant," Kaplan aded.
Giuffre filed the lawsuit against Andrew in August of 2021, accusing him of rape and sexual assault of a minor. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation and punitive damages, and calls for a jury trial.
She said that Andrew sexually abused her in three different locations, occurring sometime within the span of 2000-2002.
Giuffre states that she was abused at Maxwell's home in London, at Epstein's mansion in New York, and at Little St. James, which was Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.
"During this encounter, Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew forced Plaintiff, a child, to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will," the lawsuit states.
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