Prince Andrew: Guiffre's lawyers argument against case dismissal

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Prince Andrew’s lawyers will be calling on a Manhattan judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit against the Duke of York because of a recently-released agreement Virginia Giuffre struck with Jeffrey Epstein in 2009. Giuffre accused the royal of having had sexual relations with her whilst still a minor, allegations the Duke has repeatedly and vehemently denied. In the agreement she signed with the disgraced billionaire, Giuffre agreed not to pursue legal challenges against anyone who might have been described as a “potential defendant” in connection to Epstein’s case. 

Criminal defence lawyer Rachel Fiset claimed Giuffre’s lawyers could argue she did not intend the benefits to third parties included in the agreement to be “so broad.”

Speaking to Good Morning Britain: “A contract like this appears to both benefit the contracting parties, which are Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein.

“It also then benefits third parties and that is a little bit unique in the contract to have the third-party beneficiaries.

“That is what other potential defendants would be, third-party beneficiaries.”

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She continued: “The law does not allow for a limitless class of people to be benefiting from a contract that they are not party to.

“Potential other defendants is a very broad term, especially when you think about it ‘from the beginning of the world.’

“But what they’d have to argue is that this is too broad, she did not intend to include Prince Andrew, that there was no definitiveness to the inclusion of any of these other potential parties.

“And that this was not what they meant when they contracted.”

Prince Andrew: 2009 document reveals Giuffre settlement

Virginia Giuffre is suing the Duke of York for alleged sexual assault when she was a teenager, but the royal’s legal team will make their argument to dismiss the case at a hearing on Tuesday.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan is due to hold a video teleconference a day after a 12-page document was made public revealing the terms of a $500,000(£370,000) payout from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Ms Giuffre.

The document showed Ms Giuffre agreed to “release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge” Epstein and “any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant” in 2009.

The settlement relates to a Florida state case to which Prince Andrew was not a party

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Ms Giuffre sued convicted paedophile Epstein in May 2009, alleging he sexually assaulted her when she was 15.

She also claimed that she was “required to be sexually exploited by (Epstein’s) adult male peers, including royalty, politicians, academicians” and others.

The lawsuit was dismissed in December 2009.

The Duke of York’s lawyers argued in a 2021 court filing that the settlement agreement shielded him from liability because he fell into the category of “royalty” from liability.

They also said the settlement was intended to protect “any and all persons who Giuffre identified as potential targets of future lawsuits.”

The agreement released on Monday in federal court in Manhattan said “any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant from all, and all manner of, action and actions of Virginia Roberts” was released from liability.

Andrew’s lawyers on Monday declined to comment on the filing.

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