Prince Andrew will claim that a sexual assault case filed against him is unconstitutional because his accuser made a secret pact with Jeffrey Epstein including the word "royalty."
Virginia Roberts Giuffre reached an undisclosed settlement with the convicted sex offender in 2009 after filing a criminal complaint accusing him of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Prince Andrew' legal team to use royal technicality
The private deal they signed in Florida, in which she reportedly promised not to pursue the financier or his colleagues any further, has remained sealed since then.
However, when Giuffre filed a lawsuit against the Duke for unknown damages, alleging she was forced to have sex with him three times when she was 17, the document has sparked the Duke's legal team's interest.
Andrew Brettler, the Duke's lawyer in the United States, testified last month at a pre-trial hearing that he thought it freed the Duke and others from "any and all conceivable responsibility." A court ordered the deal to be revealed to the Duke's legal team last week, The Daily Telegraph reported.
His legal team is expected to point to the reference to royalties as evidence that Ms Giuffre's claim is invalid. Because no other member of the Royal family has been implicated in the Epstein affair or is believed to have had contact with Ms Giuffre, they may claim that it solely applies to Prince Andrew.
Its reference to the phrase "royalty" has been exposed since it was handed to Andrew's legal team last week. Andrew Brettler, the Duke's lawyer in the United States, said at a pretrial hearing last month that he thought it absolved the Duke and others from "any and all conceivable culpability."
Per Express.co, they'll likely seize on this language to argue that it invalidates Giuffre's claim. This is due to the fact that no other member of the Royal Family has been implicated in the Epstein controversy or is suspected of having met Giuffre.
Settlement agreement with the accuser may jeopardize the lawsuit
The ensuing agreement was used by Alan Dershowitz, Epstein's former lawyer, to have Giuffre's abuse claim dismissed. The news broke shortly after the Metropolitan Police stated that, following a review, no further action will be taken against the Duke.
According to Alan Dershowitz, a previous settlement agreement signed by Prince Andrew's accuser might jeopardize his rape lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Giuffre has accused both of the high-profile men of sexual assault.
Giuffre claims the Duke of York raped her in New York, London, and the US Virgin Islands when she was 17 and an Epstein slave. She did, however, dismiss similar accusations against Dershowitz in relation to a previous settlement she reached with Epstein after suing him in civil court in Florida in 2009.
There is no indication that the sealed agreement invalidates Giuffre's claims; rather, it was designed to preclude additional litigation against Epstein's accomplices, Newsweek reported.
Prince Andrew's legal team has been given the same material to work on as they prepare their answer to the case against him, which has a court-imposed deadline of October 29. After the paper was used as evidence in Dershowitz's own litigation with Giuffre, he demanded that it be provided to Andrew in September.
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