- A sealed settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and accuser Virginia Giuffre was made public Monday.
- Prince Andrew's legal team has argued the settlement releases the royal from any claims brought by Giuffre.
- The document doesn't name the prince specifically, but his lawyers say he's among unspecified "other potential defendants."
A newly unsealed 2009 settlement agreement between Jeffrey Epstein and accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre — who is suing Prince Andrew over alleged sexual misconduct — makes no explicit reference to the royal family member.
Attorneys for the Duke of York have claimed that the document, which was made public Monday afternoon, would invalidate Giuffre's claims against him. In an October court filing asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, the lawyers wrote that Prince Andrew was a "third-part beneficiary to the release."
"Because Prince Andrew is a senior member of the British royal family, he falls into one of the expressly identified categories of persons, i.e., royalty, released from liability under the Release Agreement, along with politicians, academicians, businessmen, and others allegedly associated with Epstein," Andrew's attorneys wrote.
Last week a judge ordered the document, which was signed in 2009, to be unsealed.
Over the years, Giuffre has made misconduct claims against Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their associates Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew in civil lawsuits. All of the defendants denied the claims against them, and Dershowitz and the prince have both said 2009 settlement agreement bars Giuffre from suing them.
The settlement agreement, which was signed a decade before Epstein's death in 2019, granted Giuffre $500,000. It says that, as a condition of receiving the funds, Giuffre must relinquish all civil lawsuits against Epstein and "second parties," which appear to be a reference to his attorneys, legal agents, and employees.
The only reference to "third parties" includes family members, tax services, government subpoenas, and other entities who might gain access to the release form, but would be require to abide by confidentiality rules.
The settlement agreement also stipulates Giuffre would have to drop claims against "other potential defendants," which the release form does not define.
Prince Andrew's attorneys have argued that, although they aren't explicitly mentioned, the royal and Dershowitz are among the "other potential defendants" referenced in the document.
"To avoid being dragged into future legal disputes, Epstein negotiated for this broad release, insisting that it cover any and all persons who Giuffre identified as potential targets of future lawsuits, regardless of the merit — or lack thereof — to any such claims," they wrote. "Epstein's former attorney, Alan Dershowitz, and Prince Andrew are axiomatically among the releasees in that 2009 settlement agreement."
An attorney for Prince Andrew didn't immediately respond Monday to Insider's request for comment.
