US Judge rules settlement agreement can remain secret in Prince Andrew lawsuit

A New York Judge has ruled that a 2009 settlement agreement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein can be kept under seal. US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan made the ruling a day after Prince Andrew's lawyer has asked a New York judge to keep the 2008 agreement document sealed that he says can protect the prince against a lawsuit’s claims, according to AP. An American woman has accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17. 

Attorney Andrew Brettler, representing Prince Andrew had made the request in court papers in Manhattan federal court, where Judge Lewis A. Kaplan is presiding over the case filed on behalf of Virginia Giuffre. Kaplan in his order stated that Jeffrey Epstein's estate also "does not contend that the settlement agreement must remain sealed," according to AP. Andrew Brettler has said that he wanted to include a copy of the 2009 settlement agreement with his arguments. 

As per the AP report, Kaplan seemed to want the parties to request the other judge Loretta A. Preska to agree that the document can be unsealed, saying "might well view with favour an application... to permit the public disclosure of the Settlement Agreement", according to AP. The settlement agreement was between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein while awaiting a sex trafficking trial at a New York federal prison. 

Prince Andrew's attorney calls the lawsuit by Giuffre as 'baseless'

Brettler, who is representing the royal, has called the lawsuit filed by Giuffre in August "baseless". In his court papers filed on Tuesday, Brettler said that the agreement "releases Prince Andrew and others from any purported liability arising from the claims Ms Giuffre asserted against Prince Andrew here," according to AP. Brettler has said that they requested the order to remain secret as the agreement is subject to a protective order from another judge presiding over the case in New York. 

Allegations against Prince Andrew 

Virginia Giuffre has alleged that Prince Andrew abused her on multiple occasions when she was under the age of 18, according to AP. As per the case, Prince Andrew allegedly abused Giuffre at the London home of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein's homes in New York and the US Virgin Islands, according to AP. She has alleged that Prince Andrew engaged in sexual acts without her consent. However, Prince Andrew, who is UK’s Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, has denied the claims against him.

(Inputs from AP)

(Image: AP)