NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — Attorneys representing a U.S. woman who claims Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her have asked British courts to formally notify him about her lawsuit after a lawyer for the prince maintained this week that Andrew has not been properly notified of the “baseless” civil action.
Britain’s High Court accepted the request from lawyers for Virginia Giuffre to formally contact Andrew about the lawsuit launched in America.
According to the lawsuit filed last month in New York federal court, Giuffre repeated claims she has made publicly about the prince, saying Andrew abused her on multiple occasions in 2001 when she was younger than 18.
In late 2019, Andrew told the BBC “Newsnight” program that he never had sex with Giuffre, saying, “It didn’t happen.”
At a hearing in New York on Monday, Giuffre’s lawyer had argued that the prince was already properly served when documents formally notifying him of the lawsuit were handed over to a Metropolitan Police officer at the main gates of Andrew’s home in Windsor Great Park on Aug. 27.
But Andrew Brettler, representing the prince at the first court proceeding to result from the lawsuit, told Judge Lewis A. Kaplan that Andrew had not properly been served. He also said Giuffre’s claim was “baseless, non-viable and potentially unlawful.”
“He’s had a lot of palaces to hide behind — and in — but he has been finally served. And now he has to come forward and face the music,” said David Boies, Giuffre’s attorney.
However, due to the pandemic, it’s unclear if the prince will ever actually appear in a courtroom on American soil, but Boies is optimistic.
“Initially, he won’t have to come to court; he’ll send his lawyers to court. And we’ll argue … a number of legal issues. And there will be what is described as discovery, where each side produces documents to the other. Each side has an opportunity to examine under oath,” Boies said. “The other, he’ll have a chance to examine Virginia Giuffre, we’ll have an opportunity to examine him. Each of us will have an opportunity to examine potential witnesses. And then we will get to court the actual jury trial, when he’ll have to face a jury explained his conduct.”
He said he also doesn’t see this case ending in a settlement.
“The charges are very serious,” Boies said. “Virginia believes that this is a case in which she sees he not only vindication for herself, but she’s seeking to send a message that this kind of conduct is simply unacceptable — that rich and powerful people taking advantage of vulnerable young girls is something that just cannot go on. And she has dedicated herself for the last several years to trying to bring this to people’s attention.”
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