Prince Andrew suffered a big loss in court today after a judge denied his legal defenses efforts to have a lawsuit against him thrown out.
As Mamas Uncut reported on January 3, the settlement between Jeffery Epstein and his accuser, Virginia Robert Giuffre was unsealed and brought before a judge. The prince hoped to use the unsealed documents to have the civil lawsuit Giuffre brought against him thrown out.
According to the record, Prince Andrew’s legal team believed that the language in Epstein’s settlement records protected him as well. In 2009, Giuffre accepted a settlement of $500,000 from Epstein.
However, in addition to the money, Giuffre also agreed that the $500,000 would include “other potential defendants.” As the Daily Mail reported, the settlement specifically read:
“Hereby release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge the said Second Parties and any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant (“Other Potential Defendants”) from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts.’”
While Prince Andrew’s name was not specifically expressed in the settlement, his legal team believes he falls under the “other potential defendants” category. However, New York Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan did not agree.
According to NPR, the judge ruled that Giuffre’s lawsuit against Prince Andrew can move forward. As Mamas Uncut reported, Giuffre has sued the Prince for infliction of emotional distress and battery, claiming that when she was 17 years old Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew multiple times between 2000 to 2002.
As NPR reports, Prince Andrew would have been about 40 years of age during these encounters.
Through the civil suit, Giuffre is seeking unspecified compensation and punitive damages, as well as a jury trial. In addition, Andrew’s lawyer, Andrew B. Brettler, further argued that because the suit does not include specific dates and descriptions of the abuse, the case should be dismissed.
The Associated Press reported that Judge Kaplan also denied that motion saying Giuffre provided enough information to move forward after reading “aloud a portion of the lawsuit in which Giuffre alleged ‘involuntary sexual intercourse.’”
This is obviously a big blow to Prince Andrew, who has continuously denied his accuser’s claims against him. As Judge Kaplan explained, the language used in the settlement between Epstein and Giuffre is “too vague” to protect Prince Andrew.
In fact, Kaplan said that the term “potential defendant” is so vague that it almost has no meaning at all. “What is a ‘potential defendant’ as distinguished from a ‘defendant’?” Kaplan reportedly questioned.
Kaplan’s decision comes just weeks after Epstein’s longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking minors. And Maxwell’s trial seems to be having a big effect on those also involved in Epstein and Maxwell’s wrongdoings.
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