A U.S. Judge has denied a request made by Britain’s Prince Andrew to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s litigation alleging the Duke of York of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 and trafficking her through the late financier, Jeffrey Epstein. ayokinews.com reports
In a judgment made public on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled it was premature to examine the prince’s efforts to disprove Giuffre’s accusations that he abused her and purposefully caused her mental anguish, but he would be entitled to do so during a trial.
It’s also too early to say if Giuffre and Epstein want to exempt people like Andrew from a 2009 settlement of Giuffre’s litigation against the late financier, Kaplan said.
The judgment allows Giuffre’s lawsuit against Andrew to proceed to trial, which Kaplan says might start later this year.
While Andrew has not been charged with any criminal activity, his links to Epstein have tarnished his image and deprived him of several royal responsibilities.
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Andrew has on several occasions refuted Giuffre’s allegations that he coerced her to have sexual intercourse in the London property of former Epstein associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, more than two decades ago and that he assaulted her at two additional Epstein residences.
According to Kaplan, the “muddled” wordings in Giuffre and Epstein’s 2009 settlement shows they may have established “something of a middle ground” as to whether Andrew or others in similar circumstance would be protected from future litigation.
“We do not know what, if anything, went through the parties’ minds,” Kaplan wrote. “The parties have articulated at least two reasonable interpretations of the critical language. The agreement therefore is ambiguous.”
Settlement agreements can prohibit plaintiffs like Giuffre from filing additional lawsuit, including against third parties like Prince Andrew.
Credit (Source): https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2483656233292/prince-andrew-must-face-sex-abuse-accuser-s-lawsuit-u-s-judge
