Prince Andrew's Bid to Have Virginia Giuffre's Sex Abuse Lawsuit Dismissed Is Rejected by United States
Why Prince Andrew Has Stepped Down From His Royal Duties
Bob Saget Funeral: 'Full House' Cast and More Attend Memorial
Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox Drank Each Other's Blood After G…
Valerie Bertinelli Says Writing About Soulmate Eddie Van Halen’s…
Jamie Lynn Spears Breaks Down in Tears Discussing Britney Saga
Jenna Jameson's Partner Shares Health Update Following Guillain-…
How Kim Kardashian Is Responding to Kanye West's Recent Claims (…
Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey's PDA Makes Steve Harvey ‘Unco…
Cardi B Takes Motherhood to New Heights, Considers New Tattoo
Inside Bob Saget's ‘Special' Relationship With Mary-Kate and Ash…
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Pay Tribute to 'Full House' Dad Bob S…
Remembering Sidney Poitier: Viola Davis, Barack Obama & More Pay…
Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet Part Ways After 16 Years Together
Kim Kardashian 'Could Honestly Care Less' About Who Kanye West I…
How Khloe Kardashian Is Doing Following Tristan Thompson Baby Sc…
Inside the 'Bull' Wardrobe Closet With Michael Weatherly (Exclus…
Andre Leon Talley Looks Back on His Biggest Fashion Mistake (Exc…
'RHOC's Noella Bergener on Her Heather Dubrow Beef and More Debu…
Bob Saget, Comedian and Star of ‘Full House,’ Dead at 65
A United States district judge rejected a motion by Britain's Prince Andrew on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre that alleges he sexually abused her when she was 17. Andrew's lawyers argued that the suit should be thrown out because of a 2009 deal that Guiffre signed with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge Lewis Kaplan said the 2009 deal "cannot be seen" to benefit Andrew.
"Independent of whether the release language applies to Prince Andrew, the agreement, at a minimum, is 'reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation' on the equally important question of whether this defendant may invoke it," Judge Kaplan said.
Giuffre's 2009 deal with Epstein
In 2009, Giuffre accepted $500,000 from Jeffrey Epstein to settle a lawsuit she had filed against him in Florida. Part of that agreement extends protection to "any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant ('Other Potential Defendants') from all, and all manner of [claims] that said First Parties ever had... or may have, against Jeffrey Epstein, or Other Potential Defendants."
In an effort to get Giuffre's suit dismissed, Andrew's lawyers argued that he was among the "Other Potential Defendants" protected under that 2009 deal, and that he should therefore be released from any claims Giuffre might make against him.
Giuffre and her lawyers argued that Andrew was not among the "Other Potential Defendants" that the deal referred to. He was not named in the Florida lawsuit, though Giuffre did allege in that suit that she was flown around the world by Epstein to have sexual encounters with men, "including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and/or professional and personal acquaintances."
Giuffre filed the civil suit against Andrew in New York in August, saying she was coerced into sexual encounters with him 2001 by Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail in 2019, and his companion Ghislaine Maxwell, who was herself recently convicted of sex trafficking.
This story was originally published by CBS News on Jan. 12, 2021 at 9:49 a.m. ET.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
RELATED CONTENT:
How 'The Crown' Depicts Prince Andrew in Season 4
Sarah Ferguson Defends Prince Andrew Amid Jeffrey Epstein Scandal
How Queen Elizabeth Reacted to Prince Andrew's Scandal