THE GUARDIAN: The lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre in Manhattan is likely to go to trial by jury, US legal experts say
When a Manhattan judge rejected Prince Andrew’s efforts to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s sexual abuse lawsuit against him on Wednesday, it marked a victory for his longtime accuser.
Judge Lewis Kaplan’s ruling also means that the embattled royal will remain embroiled in lengthy – and embarrassing – legal proceedings for the foreseeable future.
“This is a huge development because it clears probably the biggest legal hurdle Virginia Giuffre and her team had to get her case to a jury,” said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers.
Giuffre, now 38, has long alleged that she was coerced into sex with the Duke of York at the age of 17 by two of his associates – the disgraced American financier effrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kaplan’s decision. » | Victoria Bekiempis in New York | Thursday, January 13, 2022
Im von Virginia Guiffre angestrengten Verfahren bleiben Prinz Andrew nur noch schlechte Optionen: Dem Herzog von York bleibt keine andere Wahl mehr, als auf die Missbrauchsvorwürfe des Epstein-Opfers Virginia Guiffre zu reagieren. Sowohl ein aussergerichtlicher Vergleich wie ein Prozess wären mit einem grossen Imageschaden verbunden. »
Prince Andrew civil case: What happens next?: It couldn't have been a worse result for Prince Andrew. »
