British Prince Andrew, Duke of York can no longer avoid the sex assault lawsuit looming over his head, as United States District court ruled that the plaintiff, Virginia Giuffre, could serve the Prince in other legal ways.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said Giuffre’s plan to send her lawsuit to Duke of York’s Los Angeles-based lawyer was “reasonably calculated to bring the papers served to the defendant’s attention,” regardless of whether the prince “authorized” the lawyer to accept it.
“We are grateful that the Court has granted alternative service on Prince Andrew. This moves the case forward”, Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for Giuffre, said in an emailed statement.
Andrew, the 61-year-old Duke of York and second son of the current Monarch of the UK, was sued by Giuffre last month, accusing him of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress over alleged misconduct from about two decades ago.
Giuffre, 38, was underage at the time of Andrew’s alleged abuse, which she said occurred around the time his friend, the financier Jeffrey Epstein, was sexually abusing her.
Queen Elizabeth’s middle son has always denied the allegations, and he has not been charged yet.
The court’s ruling comes after the Prince tried to contest the lawsuit, claiming that Giuffre did not probably serve him the papers.
Over the past weekend, it was revealed that the Duke was served legal papers at his private house, informing him of the lawsuit against him by Giuffre, it was not confirmed if the Prince had personally received it.
Andrew is one of the most prominent people linked to Epstein, who US prosecutors charged in July 2019 with sexually exploiting dozens of girls and women.
The Prince stepped back from royal duties in November 2019, saying at the time that his association with Epstein had become a “major disruption” to his family’s work.
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