Maria Laura Avignolo
08/12/2021 12:01 PM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 08/12/2021 12:01
When Prince Andrew,
Queen Elizabeth's favorite son
, arrived at Balmoral Palace with his ex-wife Fergie for the first time since the death of his father to spend his holidays with the sovereign, he learned that
Virginia Giuffre
, one of the teenagers sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein for the rich and famous, had initiated a civil lawsuit for damages in a New York court.
You now have 21 days to respond.
The young woman's lawyer, who has taken legal action against the Duke of York accusing him of
sexual assault
as a teenager, has said that she cannot "hide behind the castle walls."
David Boies, who represents Virginia Giuffre, told the BBC's Newsnight that his client had "done everything possible to resolve this dispute."
The demand
Giuffre, known as Virginia Roberts, filed a civil lawsuit for unspecified damages in federal court in New York.
Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit for unspecified damages in federal court in New York.
Photo: AP
Boies said that "at this point, litigation is the only way to establish once and for all
what the truth is
. Litigation is the only way to establish once and for all what Prince Andrew's evidence really is," he said. .
The North American lawyer assured that the people "ignore the courts at their own risk" and that "it would be
very inadvisable
for Prince Andrew to ignore the judicial process."
"If he does, it will be
a default judgment
against him that will, in fact, be enforced, not just in the United States, but in virtually every civilized country in the world," he said.
He added that Giuffre intends to send a message to rich and powerful men that the alleged behavior "is not acceptable and that it cannot be
hidden behind wealth
and power and the palace walls."
Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the whistleblower, in London when she was a minor.
/ (Twitter)
Giuffre's claim says Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who committed suicide in one, "lent it for sexual purposes"
while he was a minor
, under US law.
Goodbye to public life
For Prince Charles and his son William, future kings, Prince Andrew, brother and uncle respectively,
"he has no way to return to public life"
because of the lawsuit.
A trial that will last at least two years and will coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Despite “his love for his brother, it will be an unwelcome reputation, which will damage the institution.
He has long ago concluded that it is
a problem
that cannot be solved and the specter of these accusations returns regularly, ”said a source close to the heir.
Andrés is
the closest son to the queen
.
He lives at the Royal Lodge, which used to belong to the Queen Mother, and visits his mother at Windsor Castle daily and
rides with her
.
The bond with her brother and future Carlos is tense and distant.
For Prince Charles and his son William, Andrés, "there is no way to return to public life."
Photo: AP
He believes that he pays the price for British society to accept another complicated case: that Camilla, current wife of Carlos, his former lover and who caused the divorce with Lady Di,
becomes queen
, when Elizabeth II dies and he ascended to the throne .
An idea that British public opinion resists.
Along with Edward, his brother, the bond with Carlos and William, the other heir, is not one of sympathy these days.
Carlos refuses to cede to Edward a title that he inherited from his father and for which Felipe had designated him successor: that of Duke of Edinburgh.
Royal family squabbles.
Prince Andrew resigned from all of the charitable organizations he presided over and 50 organizations quietly removed him from their patronage.
He holds 9 honorary positions in the military as a member of the Royal Family and a former officer in the Royal Marines.
The trial and extradition
Giuffre maintains that Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who committed suicide in a New York jail,
"lent it for sexual purposes"
while he was a minor, according to US law.
Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, who committed suicide in a New York jail.
Photo: AP
However, the duke may not have to pay Giuffre in damages, even if she wins her legal action against him for alleged sexual assault as a teenager.
His lawyers say the duke's legal team
did not respond
to a request to discuss negotiations on a possible settlement.
The duke
has always denied
sexually assaulting Giuffre.
The documents allege that Giuffre was sexually abused by the Duke when she was under the age of 18 at Ghislaine Maxwell's home in London, at Epstein's home in New York, on her private Caribbean island and
elsewhere.
In the lawsuit, Giuffre's lawyers said: “Prince Andrew's sexual abuse of a girl who he knew was a victim of sex trafficking, and when she was about 40 years old, goes beyond all possible limits of decency and is intolerable in a civilized community. "
Judicial possibilities
If the duke refuses to have anything to do with the New York action, the sentence may not be enforced in England.
A civil judgment in the United States would normally be enforced in England
if applied to the High Court.
Richard Marshall of the Pennington Manches Cooper law firm said: "Enforcement of a judgment in the United States is determined as a matter of English common law."
The rules of Albert Dicey, the 19th century jurist, stated that a judgment of a foreign court
would not be enforceable in England
, unless the defendant was present in the US when the proceedings were initiated or submitted to jurisdiction. of the court.
Prince Andrew, alone during his father's funeral, in April.
Photo: dpa
Their presence should be voluntary in the process, such as the presentation of a defense, or by prior contractual agreement.
The US Federal Judge may send a request letter to the Chief Master of the London High Court seeking information that can assist in the lawsuit.
Bradley Simon of the Windels Marx firm said Giuffre's lawyers would want the prince to
answer the questions under oath,
at some point.
If a declaration was completed in person, it could be done in an office.
Simon said that if the case went ahead without a settlement "at some point he would have to appear for trial."
When asked if he could ignore the procedure, he said: “I don't think I will ignore it.
Having a prince with a trial by default is something the palace would
consider terrible
. "
Arick Fudali, a partner at The Bloom Firm, which has represented nine of Epstein's victims, said there was
a "slim chance"
that the claim would go to court.
There was a chance that Giuffre would win if he did, he said.
Can he be extradited?
The lawsuit was filed under
New York's Child Victims Act
, enacted in 2019 by Andrew Cuomo, who resigned this week as governor on allegations of sexual harassment.
The law allows survivors of child sexual abuse to file
a case that has already expired
, but only until August 14.
The
extradition of the prince
cannot be
requested.
It is a civil case, not a criminal one.
If you do not present a defense, the court will rule against you and Virginia Giuffre's attorneys will go to Superior Court to enforce the judgment.
Some specialists argue that if you refuse to have anything to do with the legal action in the US,
it cannot be enforced in the UK.
An economic compensation
Andrés can defend the case, which would be expensive and runs the risk of the judgment going against him, or trying to reach a settlement.
Giuffre has requested "punitive damages".
If you settle, you would have to pay him a significant sum,
without any admission of guilt.
However, the public can conclude that he only agreed to pay her because there was an implied admission of guilt.
Boies said Giuffre wanted compensation for the damages she said was done to her, and donate money to a charity to
help survivors of sex trafficking.
The duke is accused of engaging in sexual acts without Giuffre's consent, being aware of his age and "knowing that he was a victim of sex trafficking."
“The evidence in terms of what (Andrew) knew about Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation is something that will obviously be up to the jury to decide.
I think everyone who was closely associated with Jeffrey Epstein
knew that he had these girls
, these young women that he was dealing with, "he said.
Andrew's representatives declined to comment on Giuffre's allegations in 2019. The duke said he
did not recall meeting her.
“I continue to unequivocally regret my misjudged association with Jeffrey Epstein.
His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathize with all who have been affected and want some kind of closure ... I am of course willing to assist any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if necessary, "the prince said in a statement.
"No one is above the law"
British Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cresida Dick said Thursday that
"no one is above the law"
when asked about the sexual assault allegations against Prince Andrew.
British Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cresida Dick (center).
Photo: dpa
Dame Cresida Dick said a review of the case is underway, but no investigation is taking place.
"It has been reviewed twice before. We have worked closely with the CPS. Of course we are open to working with the authorities from abroad. We will give them all the help if they ask us for something, within the law, obviously, and as a result of what is happening, I asked my team to recheck the matter, "he stated.
"The position is that we have had
more than one accusation
related to Mr. Epstein and we have reviewed them, evaluated them and we have not opened an investigation," he said.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
Photo: AFP
Police will review allegations that Ghislaine Maxwell, now detained in New York, helped traffic and abuse women and girls in the UK.
"We have come to the conclusion that there is no investigation that we can open and we have not done so," he said.
He added that it was "the correct decision", after receiving the advice of the Crown Prosecutor's Office.
"I am aware that there are currently many more comments in the media and the apparent civil court case that is taking place in the United States. We will review our position again," said the police chief.
Paris, correspondent
ap
Look also
Dramatic complaint: a woman revealed that Jeffrey Epstein abused her for 15 years
Sarah Ferguson, British Royal Family Novelist, Debuts Book and Tells Her Story