'NON-VIABLE'

Prince Andrew’s Lawyer Calls Sexual Assault Lawsuit ‘Baseless,’ ‘Potentially Unlawful’

The Duke of York’s legal team has expressed “significant concerns about the propriety” of the suit, based on the terms of an earlier settlement.

Andrew B. Brettler, a lawyer for Prince Andrew previously best known for representing the likes of Armie Hammer and Bryan Singer, has called a sexual assault lawsuit brought against the disgraced royal “baseless, nonviable, and potentially unlawful.” In the first hearing since Virginia Giuffre sued Andrew last month, Brettler appeared in court to comment on his team’s “significant concerns about the propriety of this lawsuit.” Giuffre is accusing Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teen at convicted rapist Jeffrey Epstein’s behest. Andrew, who has not been charged with anything, has denied the allegations.

His team has suggested previously they’ll challenge Giuffre’s filing on the grounds that their client had not been properly served with her complaint. On Monday, his lawyers indicated that Giuffre’s suit may be invalid under a 2009 “settlement agreement the plaintiff entered into… that releases the duke and others from any and all potential liability.” Giuffre’s lawyers argued that this characterization of the earlier settlement, made with Epstein, was “erroneous” as its terms excluded Andrew. Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding, said that Brettler was “making this a lot more complicated than it really is.”