NEW YORK —
Attorneys for Prince Andrew requested a New York decide Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing the prince of sexually abusing an American when she was 17, saying the prince “by no means sexually abused or assaulted” the plaintiff.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court docket, an lawyer for Andrew mentioned the plaintiff, Virginia Giuffre, might be a sufferer of sexual abuse by the hands of financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Nonetheless, and with out diminishing the hurt suffered because of Epstein’s alleged misconduct, Prince Andrew by no means sexually abused or assaulted Giuffre. He unequivocally denies Giuffre’s false allegations in opposition to him,” in response to arguments signed by lawyer Andrew Brettler.
Brettler requested that the lawsuit be thrown out or that legal professionals for Giuffre be required to refile the lawsuit with a extra definitive assertion of her allegations.
“Accusing a member of the world’s greatest identified royal household of significant misconduct has helped Giuffre create a media frenzy on-line and within the conventional press. It’s unlucky, however simple, that sensationalism and innuendo have prevailed over the reality,” the submitting mentioned.
“Giuffre has initiated this baseless lawsuit in opposition to Prince Andrew to realize one other payday at his expense and on the expense of these closest to him. Epstein’s abuse of Giuffre doesn’t justify her public marketing campaign in opposition to Prince Andrew,” the written arguments mentioned.
The submission additionally challenged a short lived New York state regulation that has since expired that allow survivors of intercourse abuse incurred throughout childhood to sue their alleged abusers regardless of how a lot time had handed.
Giuffre claimed in her August lawsuit that the prince abused her on a number of events in 2001. Andrew has mentioned even earlier than the court docket papers had been filed Friday that he by no means had intercourse along with her.
The Related Press doesn’t sometimes establish individuals who say they’re victims of sexual assault except they select to return ahead publicly, as Giuffre has.
An lawyer for Giuffre, Sigrid McCawley, referred to as Andrew’s request to dismiss the lawsuit “outrageous” and credited Giuffre for serving to to disclose Epstein’s alleged intercourse trafficking that they are saying Andrew participated in.
As regards to cash, McCawley mentioned, “the one social gathering to this litigation utilizing cash to his profit is Prince Andrew.”
Brettler, who has referred to as the lawsuit “baseless,” had included within the arguments a replica of a 2009 settlement settlement that he believes protects his consumer from being sued.
In response to the arguments on Andrew’s behalf, Giuffre’s 2009 settlement of intercourse trafficking and sexual abuse claims in opposition to Epstein included a basic launch of all claims in opposition to him and quite a few different people and entities.
“To keep away from being dragged into future authorized disputes, Epstein negotiated for this broad launch, insisting that it cowl any and all individuals who Giuffre recognized as potential targets of future lawsuits, whatever the benefit — or lack thereof — to any such claims,” the papers mentioned.
The pages of the settlement reached between Giuffre and Epstein had been blacked out once they had been included in Friday’s submission as “Exhibit A.” The financier was discovered lifeless at age 66 in his cell in 2019 whereas awaiting a intercourse trafficking trial at a New York federal jail. His loss of life was dominated a suicide.
Earlier this week, Brettler mentioned in a written submission to the decide that the settlement “releases Prince Andrew and others from any purported legal responsibility arising from the claims Ms. Giuffre asserted in opposition to Prince Andrew right here.”
When he requested that the paperwork be filed beneath seal, Brettler mentioned neither he nor legal professionals for Giuffre believed that it was essential to hold the 2009 settlement settlement secret aside from the truth that it’s beneath seal in one other civil litigation in Manhattan federal court docket.
A listening to within the case is scheduled for subsequent week.
