Prince Andrew expected to contest NY court case, filing shows

The Duke of York is being sued in New York over allegations of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre.

Prince Andrew expected to contest NY court case, filing shows

By George Bowden BBC News

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image source, Virginia Roberts
image caption Virginia Giuffre, then Roberts, was pictured with Prince Andrew in London in 2001

In the latest stage of the sexual assault case against him, Prince Andrew is expected to argue he has not been served papers, and will challenge the jurisdiction of the case.

Virginia Giuffre has launched a civil case against the duke - and papers must be "served" before it can proceed.

A lawyer for the Duke of York, 61, is expected to appear in a New York pre-trial court conference call on Monday.

He denies all the allegations against him.

The conference call will consider the next stages of the case, which began last month.

The judge will decide whether papers were in fact served and whether the case can proceed.

Ms Giuffre, now 38, was an accuser of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and claims she was sexually assaulted by the prince at three locations, including New York City.

The case centres around allegations the prince sexually abused Ms Giuffre - then known as Virginia Roberts - at the London home of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and at Epstein's homes in Manhattan and Little St James in the US Virgin Islands.

It claims Prince Andrew engaged in sexual acts without Ms Giuffre's consent, knowing how old she was, and "that she was a sex-trafficking victim".

The prince, the Queen's second son, has consistently denied the claims, and told BBC Two's Newsnight in 2019: "It didn't happen. I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever."

media caption Prince Andrew said in 2019 that he could not recall any incident involving Virginia Roberts.

Newly-filed documents showed the prince will be represented by lawyer Andrew B. Brettler, of the Los Angeles-based law firm Lavely & Singer.

Mr Brettler was named in the Hollywood Reporter's 2019 Power Lawyers list and specialises in "media and entertainment litigation", according to the firm's website .

Ms Giuffre's lawyers claimed papers were left with a police officer at the gates of Prince Andrew's Windsor home last month.

According to court documents from Ms Giuffre's lawyers, an answer is due from him by 17 September and "if you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint".

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