Prince Andrew accuser's deal with Epstein shields other potential defendants from lawsuits

A 2009 settlement agreement between late financier Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre provided a release from liability for "any other person or entity" who could have been a defendant against claims by Giuffre, a court filing showed on Monday.

A 2009 settlement agreement between late financier Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre provided a release from liability for "any other person or entity" who could have been a defendant against claims by Giuffre, a court filing showed on Monday. The deal, which provided for Giuffre to be paid $500,000, was made public as part of Giuffre's civil lawsuit accusing Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse.

Giuffre's lawsuit accuses https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/prince-andrew-is-sued-by-jeffrey-epstein-accuser-over-alleged-sexual-abuse-2021-08-09 Andrew of forcing her to have sex more than two decades ago when she was under 18 at the London home of former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and abusing her at two of Epstein's homes. Giuffre, 38, is seeking unspecified damages in a civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court. Andrew, 61, has denied Giuffre's assertions and has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing Giuffre is seeking a "payday" from her accusations against Epstein and his associates. The prince has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

He argued the previously-confidential agreement between Giuffre and Epstein, whom she has accused of trafficking her for sex when she was a teenager, shields him from liability. It will now be up to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to determine whether the clause in the 2009 shielding others from liability blocks Giuffre from suing Andrew. A hearing over Andrew's motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit is scheduled for Tuesday.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.