PRINCE Andrew has been dealt one other blow as a choose has DENIED his bid for his intercourse assault lawsuit to be thrown out as a result of his accuser “lives in Australia”.
The Duke, 61, is dealing with a lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre who claims she was pressured to have intercourse with him thrice between 1999 and 2002 – in London, New York and on Jeffrey Epstein’s personal Caribbean island.
Andrew has at all times strongly denied all allegations made in opposition to him.
However his authorized staff demanded the lawsuit be ditched as Ms Giuffre “lives in Australia and never the US”.
The 38-year-old is at the moment staying in Australia with husband Robert and their three youngsters.
Andrew’s legal professionals claimed questioning Ms Giuffre below oath would present she is “domiciled” in Australia as a substitute of Colorado, as she says – and so a New York court docket would haven’t any jurisdiction.
However their bid has right this moment been denied by Choose Lewis A. Kaplan.
The Duke’s legal professional, Andrew Brettler, mentioned she was residing in a £1million residence in Perth when she filed her lawsuit and had spent lower than two years within the US since shifting Down Underneath in 2002.
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The prince’s legal professionals in October requested Choose Kaplan to throw out the lawsuit, saying he by no means sexually abused or assaulted her.
Additionally they accused Ms Giuffre of suing the duke to attain one other payday at his expense and on the expense of these closest to him.
The legal professionals acknowledged that Ms Giuffre could be a sufferer of sexual abuse by financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 whereas awaiting a intercourse trafficking trial.
Final month, Kaplan mentioned a trial in Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit in opposition to Andrew may happen between September and December 2022.
However the prince’s legal professionals argued the brand new details about her residence ought to consequence within the suspension of any additional progress within the lawsuit towards trial.
An legal professional for Ms Giuffre, Sigrid McCawley, referred to as the request to toss out the case “simply one other in a collection of drained makes an attempt by Prince Andrew to duck and dodge the authorized deserves of the case introduced in opposition to him”.
The prince’s attorneys wrote that Ms Giuffre has an Australian driver’s license and was residing in a £1million residence in Perth, Western Australia.
“Even when Ms Giuffre’s Australian domicile couldn’t be established as early as October 2015, there could be no actual dispute that she was completely residing there with an intent to stay there as of 2019 nonetheless two years earlier than she filed this motion in opposition to Prince Andrew”, the legal professionals wrote.
They mentioned the timing of Ms Giuffre’s registration to vote in Colorado previous to submitting the lawsuit in opposition to the prince seems to be a “calculated” transfer in an effort to assist her specious declare of citizenship in Colorado regardless of having moved to Australia not less than a yr earlier.
WORRIED, ANDY?
In the meantime, a stony-faced Andrew was right this moment pictured as he broke cowl for the primary time since his intercourse trafficker pal Ghislaine Maxwell was discovered responsible.
The Duke of York was snapped leaving his Royal Lodge residence to drive to Windsor Fortress to have lunch with the Queen.
Shamed socialite Maxwell, 60, helped entice susceptible teenagers to ex-lover Jeffrey Epstein’s properties for him to sexually abuse between 1994 and 2004.
She may spend the remainder of her life in jail after being convicted of 5 out of six counts of intercourse trafficking for vile Epstein’s paedophile ring.
It’s reported Andrew’s legal professionals had been locked in emergency talks following Maxwell’s responsible verdict amid fears his pal may “identify names” in a bid to chop her prolonged jail sentence.
Royal sources declare Andrew desires to guard the Queen by avoiding a court docket case from Ms Giuffre as he fears it’ll harm the monarchy.
It’s understood the duke – who denies all of the claims in opposition to him – instructed pals he desires to guard the monarchy by having the case thrown out of court docket.