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Prince Andrew in ‘difficult situation’, says royal correspondent-.mp4
Settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre remains an option for Prince Andrew if a judge rules that the case should go to trial.
This news comes as the latest hearing in the case between Ms Giuffre and Prince Andrew was called a “horrible day” for the duke by both legal and royal experts.
The judge overseeing Prince Andrew’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit from Ms Giuffre promised to hand down a ruling “pretty soon” after a heated hearing on Tuesday.
Mitchell Epner, a US former federal prosecutor said the case would not be dismissed following the court hearing led by Judge Lewis Kaplan and insisted that the Duke must settle, default or go to court.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Prince Andrew’s lawyers argued the 2009 agreement signed by Epstein and Ms Giuffre protects the Duke of York and should be grounds for dismissing her current suit against him.
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Key Points Court hears arguments for dismissal Judge offers Giuffre a crucial argument against dismissal Prince Andrew accuser’s settlement deal with Epstein made public Prince Andrew may be forced to give up title if he loses lawsuit Court blocked attempts by Prince Andrews lawyers to dismiss the lawsuit
Show latest update 1641524420 Prince Andrew will have to jump over ‘four hurdles’ to have sexual assault case dismissed
Prince Andrew faces an uphill battle to have his sexual assault lawsuit dismissed, legal commentators say.
English lawyer David Allen Green wrote that Andrew’s lawyers would have to clear “four hurdles” to convince a judge to throw out Virginia Giuffre’s civil case.
“To win, Andrew’s lawyers have to show that: agreement as whole can be constructed so as to cover him; the phrase ‘potential defendant’ should be interpreted to cover him; there is no rule of law/policy that prevents enforcement; he can enforce it without privity.”
Mr Allen Green said on his Law and Policy blog that the 2009 settlement agreement between Jeffrey Epstein and Ms Giuffre that Andrew’s lawyers claimed absolved him of liability was far from clear.
“If Andrew – by reasons of residence/jurisdiction, or the facts alleged by Giuffre in the Florida case – was not capable of being a defendant to the Florida proceedings then – as a matter of construction – then it is difficult for me to see how he can take the benefit of the General Release,” he wrote.
“In essence: if Andrew could not have been jointly or separately liable for the tort claim within the Florida jurisdiction then the General Release may not apply.”
Prince Andrew
(Getty Images)
Bevan Hurley 7 January 2022 03:00
1641521720 Prince Andrew could have avoided Virginia Giuffre sexual assault lawsuit with apology
Prince Andrew could have avoided being sued for sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre if he had apologised for his actions, sources tell the New York Post.
“Virginia has always just wanted the prince to acknowledge that he did something he shouldn’t have, she wants him to apologise,” a source with knowledge of Ms Giuffre’s thoughts told the paper.
“She has never made this all about money.”
Prince Andrew’s attorney Andrew Brettler argued that the civil lawsuit should be thrown out during oral arguments before Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday.
His claims that a $500,000 settlement deal signed in 2009 between Ms Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein should absolve Andrew of liability appeared to flounder under intense questioning from Judge Kaplan.
The judge has promised to release a decision “soon”.
Ms Giuffre has accused the royal of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
Virginia Giuffre
(PA Media)
Bevan Hurley 7 January 2022 02:15
1641519020 ICYMI: Who is Virginia Giuffre and what are her allegations against Prince Andrew?
Virginia Guiffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, first met now-convicted sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000 at the age of 17, when she was working as a spa assistant in Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, where Ms Giuffre’s father also worked as a maintenance manager.
Maxwell approached her and asked if she was interested in being a masseuse for Jeffrey Epstein. According to Ms Giuffre’s claims, both Epstein and Maxwell immediately began grooming her.
Ms Giuffre alleges she was trafficked and ordered to have sex with then 41-year-old Prince Andrew in 2001.
The Independent’s Megan Sheets has the full story.
What are the allegations in Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against Prince Andrew? A hearing on Giuffre’s lawsuit against the Duke of York is scheduled for 4 January in New York
Bevan Hurley 7 January 2022 01:30
1641516320 ICYMI: What were Prince Andrew’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein?
Prince Andrew may have hoped to avoid further embarrassment during Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial and subsequent conviction for child sex-trafficking last month.
But a single image shown to the jury reminded the world of his intimate ties to the socialite and her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley has more.
What were Prince Andrew’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein? Prince Andrew may have hoped to avoid further embarrassment during Maxwell’s trial, but a single image reminded the world of his intimate ties to the socialite and Epstein
Bevan Hurley 7 January 2022 00:45
1641513620 ICYMI: Case dismissed against jail guards who ‘slept’ through Epstein’s suicide
Two New York City prison guards who allegedly slept through disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death have officially been cleared after a judge signed off on their non-prosecution agreement on Monday.
US District Judge Analisa Torres dismissed the case on Monday after the pair completed the terms of their agreement, Fox News reported.
Last May, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas were asked to serve 100 hours of community service over a six-month period.
Epstein died by suicide while awaiting a sex trafficking trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in August 2019.
Reuters has more:
US judge dismisses case against Jeffrey Epstein’s jail guards The two Manhattan jail guards admitted to falsifying records on the night that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself
Bevan Hurley 7 January 2022 00:00
1641510920 Voices | Prince Andrew may not need to sweat any longer
What a day to be Judge Lewis Kaplan, district judge serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York – the man with the fates of Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Prince Andrew in his hands, and the eyes of the world upon him.
If I were the judge, I’d be in no hurry, because either way, he will find himself under vicious attack.
If he did throw out the Giuffre claim, he’d be accused of allowing Prince Andrew to “get away with it”, being part of some establishment conspiracy and an enemy to the human rights of women and girls.
There’d be a storm, writes The Independent’s Sean O’Grady.
Read the full Voices piece below:
Prince Andrew may not need to sweat any longer | Sean O’Grady So universal is the Giuffre-Epstein settlement agreement that the whole case could be thrown out, though it would prompt an appeal by Giuffre’s lawyers
Bevan Hurley 6 January 2022 23:15
1641508220 Prince Andrew’s 2019 interview with BBC was 'jaw-dropping’
BBC journalist Emily Maitlis called the 2019 interview with Prince Andrew “jaw-dropping” in a behind-the-scenes account.
“At the time, the specifics seemed almost comical. But now, suddenly, they feel deadly serious,” Ms Maitlis said in a BBC article published on Tuesday night.
The prince was asked about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and questioned about allegations made by Virginia Giuffre. The duke strongly denies all the allegations against him.
Laurie Churchman has more.
Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interview was ‘jaw-dropping’, says presenter Emily Maitlis Journalist says astonishing question and answer session on flagship BBC show now feels ‘deadly serious’
Bevan Hurley 6 January 2022 22:30
1641505520 Prince Andrew’s attempt to dismiss sexual abuse case flounders under tough questioning from judge
Prince Andrew’s lawyers came under withering questioning from a judge on Tuesday who was deciding whether Virginia Giuffre’s sexual abuse lawsuit should be allowed to proceed to trial.
Ms Giuffre’s civil lawsuit alleges that she was forced to have sex with Jeffrey Epstein’s friends when she was 17, including the Duke of York.
Prince Andrew, 61, has strongly denied the allegations, and claims Ms Giuffre is after a “payday at his expense”.
Bevan Hurley has the full report below.
Prince Andrew’s effort to dismiss sexual abuse case flounders under tough questioning Judge Lewis Kaplan promised a decision on whether the case should proceed to trial would be imminent
Bevan Hurley 6 January 2022 21:45
1641502820 What were Prince Andrew’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein?
Prince Andrew’s presence in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial was most keenly felt in a photograph he didn’t appear in.
Government exhibit GX-347 showed a picture of Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein on a porch bench in the grounds of the Queen’s Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands.
The photo was taken on a trip the pair took to the royal manor in 1999 as the guest of Prince Andrew.
It was among 19 images released to the jury of Epstein and Maxwell in exotic locations appearing to be very much in love that were found on CDs taken from a 2019 FBI raid on Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
Bevan Hurley has the full story below.
What were Prince Andrew’s ties to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein? Prince Andrew may have hoped to avoid further embarrassment during Maxwell’s trial, but a single image reminded the world of his intimate ties to the socialite and Epstein
Bevan Hurley 6 January 2022 21:00
1641500120 Prince Andrew will have to jump over ‘four hurdles’ to have sexual assault case dismissed
Prince Andrew faces an uphill battle to have his sexual assault lawsuit dismissed, legal commentators say.
English lawyer David Allen Green wrote that Andrew’s lawyers would have to clear “four hurdles” to convince a judge to throw out Virginia Giuffre’s civil case.
“To win, Andrew’s lawyers have to show that: agreement as whole can be constructed so as to cover him; the phrase ‘potential defendant’ should be interpreted to cover him; there is no rule of law/policy that prevents enforcement; he can enforce it without privity.”
Mr Allen Green said on his Law and Policy blog that the 2009 settlement agreement between Jeffrey Epstein and Ms Giuffre that Andrew’s lawyers claimed absolved him of liability was far from clear.
“If Andrew – by reasons of residence/jurisdiction, or the facts alleged by Giuffre in the Florida case – was not capable of being a defendant to the Florida proceedings then – as a matter of construction – then it is difficult for me to see how he can take the benefit of the General Release,” he wrote.
“In essence: if Andrew could not have been jointly or separately liable for the tort claim within the Florida jurisdiction then the General Release may not apply.”
Prince Andrew’s legal argument faces four distinct hurdles to overcome
(Shutterstock)
Bevan Hurley 6 January 2022 20:15
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