Prince Andrew to be sued in New York after ‘offers ignored’

Virginia Giuffre could file her civil sexual abuse suit against the Duke of York, after he failed to respond to offers to settle claims out of court.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell are pictured together inside Mawell’s London home. Giuffre’s lawsuit against the duke “would be based on her being lent out to Prince Andrew for sex by Jeffrey Epstein and [her] being under 18”. Picture: Screengrab / Channel 9 / 60 Minutes

The Duke of York could be sued in New York this week by Virginia Giuffre after he failed to respond to offers to settle her claims out of court, her lawyers have warned.

Giuffre says Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and on his Caribbean island. Her claims have been made in lawsuits filed against Epstein and Maxwell. A civil action against the duke could require him to be questioned under oath and give up letters and digital correspondence if he contests the case. If he fails to appear he could face a judgment and damages set in his absence.

Giuffre has until Saturday to file a suit against him under a law intended to give child victims of historical sexual abuse a chance to seek justice. She was above the age of consent in Britain at the time, but in New York she would have been considered a child.

Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell pictured at Prince Andrew’s daughter, Princess Beatrice's, 18th birthday at Winsdor Castle, London. Picture: Mega Agency

Lawyers for Giuffre say they wrote to the duke last month noting the imminent deadline. They complained of seeking “so far without success to meet with Prince Andrew or his counsel...to discuss whether a negotiated resolution might be appropriate”. They said that if he did not respond Giuffre would need “to assert those claims now”.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims along with any suggestion that he had “any form of sexual contact or relationship” with Giuffre.

His representative declined to comment yesterday (Sunday). Giuffre also declined to comment.

David Boies, her lawyer, told The Mail on Sunday that her lawsuit against the duke “would be based on her being lent out to Prince Andrew for sex by Jeffrey Epstein and [her] being under 18”.

He said that if the lawsuit went to trial in the prince’s absence, a default judgment could be entered against him.

Lawyers from Boies’s firm tried to contact the duke last month proposing a “tolling agreement” that would allow her “to avoid commencing an action at this time without prejudicing her claims”. The agreement would give lawyers for both sides more time to negotiate a settlement out of court.

The lawyers said that if the duke did not respond “a lawsuit will necessarily be filed”.

The Times