Prince Andrew Lawsuit: Judge To Hold Pretrial Conference In Sexual Assault Case, Lawyers Question Papers Properly Served
A federal court in New York will hold a pretrial conference Monday in the civil case filed by the woman who alleged that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her in 2001, when she was 17 years old.
Blackfords, a law firm representing Andrew, has questioned whether the documents were properly served.
The legal team for Prince Andrew's accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, have said the documents were given to a Metropolitan police officer at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 27 at Prince Andrew’s home in Windsor Great Park, located west of London.
“Attorneys at Blackfords, who he has apparently instructed to evade and contest service, have confirmed that Prince Andrew himself already has notice of this lawsuit and is evaluating his chances of success,” read court documents from David Boies, Guiffre’s attorney. “And even if Blackfords had not confirmed as much, any other conclusion would be implausible — reputable media outlets around the world reported on the filing of plaintiff’s complaint, and hundreds, if not thousands, of articles about this lawsuit have been published.’’
Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, will hold the pretrial conference and determine if Prince Andrew was properly delivered the documents.
Giuffre, 38, is one of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accusers. In August, she sued Prince Andrew had raped and sexually abused her, claiming she was "forced to have sexual intercourse with Prince Andrew against her will."
Giuffre had said that Epstein and accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell offered her to Andrew for sex on multiple occasions.
Prince Andrew, 61, has denied the accusations and has “no recollection” of meeting Giuffre.
Prince Andrew confirmed in November 2019 that he had a friendship with Epstein, an American financier who killed himself in jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
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