Mega Edition: Judge Kaplan Tells Prince Andrew's Team To Prepare For Trial (8/7/26)

Prince Andrew’s legal team repeatedly tried to persuade U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to dismiss Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s civil lawsuit before the allegations could be tested through discovery or at trial. Andrew’s attorneys argued that Giuffre’s 2009 settlement agreement with Jeffrey Epstein barred her from suing him because it released Epstein and certain “other potential defendants” from future liability. They also challenged the legal sufficiency of her claims, questioned whether New York law permitted the lawsuit and asked the court to require Giuffre to provide a more detailed statement of her allegations. Kaplan rejected those arguments, emphasizing that the court’s role at the dismissal stage was not to decide whether Giuffre’s accusations were true, but to determine whether she had presented legally sufficient claims that could move forward.

Kaplan ruled that the settlement language was ambiguous and could not be interpreted in Andrew’s favor as a matter of law before evidence had been gathered and factual disputes resolved. He denied Andrew’s motion “in all respects,” clearing the way for depositions, document requests and the possibility of a public trial in which Andrew could have been required to answer questions under oath. The ruling stripped away Andrew’s most significant legal escape route and made clear that royal status would not shield him from the ordinary civil process. Although the case was ultimately settled the following month without an admission of liability, Kaplan’s decision forced Andrew to prepare for the very outcome his lawyers had worked to avoid: a trial over Giuffre’s allegations.


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