A U.S. pass judgement on has rejected a bid by Britain’s Prince Andrew to push aside Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit accusing the Duke of York of sexually abusing her while she was 17 and being trafficked by the overdue financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a call made public on Wednesday, U.S. District Pass Judgement On Lewis Kaplan in Long Island stated it was premature to think about the prince’s efforts to solid doubt on Giuffre’s claims that he battered her and deliberately brought about her emotional misery, even though he could be allowed to accomplish that at a trial.
Kaplan mentioned it used to be additionally too quickly to determine whether or not Giuffre and Epstein supposed to free up people like Andrew from a 2009 payment of Giuffre’s lawsuit against the late financier.
Lawyers for Andrew and Giuffre didn’t immediately reply to requests for remark.
Trial may start late this yr
the verdict clears the best way for Giuffre’s case against Andrew to stay on target for an ordeal that Kaplan has stated may just start past due this yr.
Even As the prince is not accused of criminal wrongdoing, his ties to Epstein have broken his recognition and cost him many royal tasks.
Andrew has denied Giuffre’s accusations that he forced her to have sex more than 20 years in the past on the London house of former Epstein affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell, and abused her at different Epstein properties.
Kaplan said the “muddled” language in Giuffre’s and Epstein’s 2009 payment means that they may have arrived at “one thing of a center floor” on whether Andrew or others in equivalent positions can be protected against long term court cases.
“We don’t recognise what, if anything else, went during the parties’ minds,” Kaplan wrote. “The events have articulated a minimum of two affordable interpretations of the vital language. The agreement due to this fact is ambiguous.”
Payment agreements can limit plaintiffs like Giuffre from pursuing additional litigation, even towards third parties.