New York judge Lewis Kaplan ruled on Friday that Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, can be served with legal papers in the ongoing civil case launched by Virginia Giuffre, who claims the royal assaulted her at three locations.
The decision by the American judicial figure comes amid a dispute between Giuffre’s lawyers and the Prince’s representatives over whether he has been officially notified of the civil claim and legal proceedings against him.
“Service on the defendant’s US counsel is reasonably calculated to bring the papers served to the defendant’s attention, regardless of whether his US counsel is ‘authorised’ to accept service on his behalf,” Judge Kaplan stated.
Lawyers representing Giuffre claim to have made five attempts to reach the royal, with representatives from the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner having released photographs showing an envelope being posted on September 9, which they claim contains papers informing him of the case.
Separately, the UK High Court accepted a request earlier this week by Giuffre’s lawyers, setting a one-week deadline for the Duke of York to challenge the London court’s decision to formally contact the Prince to inform him of the start of legal proceedings.
Previously, Giuffre’s representatives have accused 61-year-old Andrew of “actively evading” attempts to serve him with legal documents, stating that he cannot play a “game of hide and seek behind palace walls.”
The case is based on Giuffre’s claims that the Prince sexually assaulted her at three locations, including New York City and the London home of Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations, most infamously in a BBC Newsnight interview prior to his departure from public life.
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