A US judge will decide "soon" - possibly within days - whether a civil sex case against the Duke of York will be dismissed, following the latest hearing in New York.
Prince Andrew Photo: AFP
Prince Andrew's lawyer told judge Lewis A Kaplan that the duke could be covered by a 2009 deal his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, made with Jeffrey Epstein.
Giuffre is suing the prince claiming he sexually assaulted her - when she was 17 and a minor under US law.
The duke denies the allegations.
At a virtual hearing in Manhattan on Tuesday, Judge Kaplan said he appreciated the "passion of the arguments" over the 2009 agreement.
He said he would give a decision on the dismissing the case "pretty soon" but declined to say exactly when.
Giuffre's central allegation is that Epstein, and the now-convicted Ghislaine Maxwell, trafficked her into sexual abuse and exploitation - including three incidents in which she was expected to engage in sexual activity with Prince Andrew.
While the settlement with Epstein does not mention Prince Andrew by name, his lawyers argued the deal means she cannot sue him, which Giuffre's lawyers denied.
The interpretation of the 2009 document, disclosed by a New York court, has formed a central plank of the argument in the civil case involving Prince Andrew.
Financier Epstein died in prison in 2019 while Maxwell was last week convicted of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be abused by the late financier.
The document, which was published yesterday, revealed that Giuffre agreed not to sue anyone connected to Epstein who could be described as a "potential defendant".
The document, disclosed by a New York court, reveals the financier paid her $US500,000 to end her claim.
Giuffre's legal team say the terms of the Florida settlement are irrelevant to her case against the prince - which alleges sexual abuse by the royal in New York, London and the US Virgin Islands.
-BBC
