independent.ie– Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accuses Britain’s Prince Andrew of rape, sexual battery, and sexual abuse when she was 17, could ask a judge to order him to hand over any documents related to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as communications both from private and official email.
The prospect of such exposure of the royal’s personal life has caused disquiet at Buckingham Palace amid fears that the monarchy’s reputation could be further damaged.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre (38) has accused the Duke of “rape in the first degree”, sexual battery and sexual abuse.
The suit has shattered any lingering hopes the Duke of York (61) had harboured of returning to public life.
Senior royals, including the Prince of Wales, are understood to believe he could never again represent the institution. His military titles are likely to be removed.
The Duke, who remains at Balmoral, has not responded to the claims, to the frustration of palace aides. One source claimed he had not believed that Ms Roberts Giuffre would act upon the threat of legal action and appeared to have been caught off-guard.
While a settlement would avoid a trial, it would also be seen by some as an admission of guilt.
David Boies, Ms Giuffre’s lawyer, told reporters they intend to serve the court papers on the Duke in person, which could take several weeks. From that point, a 21-day clock starts ticking on his opportunity to respond.
Experts have suggested he is “damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t” cooperate. If Andrew ignores the lawsuit, Ms Giuffre’s legal team will file for a default judgment, in which the New York court is asked to find in her favour without a trial.
A default civil judgment could potentially be used against him in any future criminal suit. If the court awarded damages to Ms Giuffre, it would face the difficult prospect of tracking down Andrew’s assets, which could take years.
Mark Stephens, of law firm Howard Kennedy, said damages would not be enforceable in a default judgement but the court could go after assets Andrew has in America. If he wanted to fight the allegations, he could either challenge the jurisdiction of the New York court or claim immunity.
However, the former would be unlikely to succeed as some of the alleged assaults took place in New York.
Ms Giuffre sought to protect herself against the latter by stating in her lawsuit that during each of the alleged incidents, the Duke was “acting in his personal capacity, and not performing any duty”.
If the case goes ahead, both sides will enter the discovery process, involving conventional litigation and depositions.
