Prince Andrew effort to toss sex assault suit hits roadblock
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge was mostly dismissive Tuesday of oral arguments by a lawyer for Prince Andrew who wants to win fast rejection of a lawsuit alleging that the prince two decades ago sexually assaulted a 17-year-old American who was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan did not immediately rule at the end of a video conference, but he made clear that he was not leaning Andrew’s way as he rejected much of the reasoning offered by the prince's attorney, Andrew Brettler, who said the case “should absolutely be dismissed.”
Kaplan repeatedly shot down Brettler's arguments or disputed them with other reasoning.
“So what?” Kaplan responded to one argument.
To another, he said: “I understand you are asserting that, but it doesn’t mean it’s correct."
And to another: “Mr. Brettler, I understand your point. It just isn’t the law."
When the hearing concluded, Kaplan promised a ruling soon and said he appreciated the “arguments and the passion.” The judge directed that the exchange of potential evidence in the case was to proceed as scheduled.
The oral arguments followed written submissions made weeks ago in the case brought by Virginia Giuffre, a woman who alleged in her August lawsuit that the prince sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2001 after she was introduced to him by financier Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Attorney David Boies, representing Giuffre, argued against dismissal of the lawsuit.
Epstein, 66, killed himself in a Manhattan federal jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial, while Maxwell, 60, was convicted last week of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges in federal court in New York.
The prince has strenuously denied the allegations in Giuffre's...