Andrew gets 7 days to challenge high court decision

Victoria Giuffre's legal team has been given the go-ahead by a British judge to formally contact Andrew about her civil claim against him. It comes as a US district judge reportedly

also ruled that they can serve the papers to the Duke of York's Los Angeles-based lawyer, regardless of whether Andrew authorises him to accept them. Ms Giuffre is suing the Prince for

allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. She is seeking unspecified damages in a US court which could run into millions of dollars. She claims she was trafficked by

Andrew's billionaire former friend Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with him when she was aged 17 and a minor under US law. Andrew, 61, vehemently denies all the allegations. The High Court

said in a statement: "Lawyers for Prince Andrew have indicated that they may seek to challenge the decision of the High Court to recognise the validity of the Hague Convention request

for service made by Ms Giuffre's lawyers. "The High Court has directed that any challenge must be made by close of business on September 24." The Duke's lawyers say

papers relating to Ms Giuffre's lawsuit have not been properly served on him. A preliminary hearing in New York on Monday was told the documents were sent via the Royal Mail. Another

set was left with a police officer at Andrew's residence in Windsor. Pictures purportedly showing how case papers were sent to Andrew at Windsor were released yesterday by Ms

Giuffre's lawyers. They were posted first class in London by a worker from Boies Schiller Flexner on September 9. The New York-based firm has an office in the City of London. The letter

was addressed to Prince Andrew at his 30-room mansion Royal Lodge inWindsor Great Park. It was apparently one of five attempts made by the US lawyers to serve the papers. Andrew has been

accused of delaying tactics by Ms Giuffre, now 38. Lisa Bloom, a US lawyer who has represented victims of Epstein, said this week: "Prince Andrew is trying to dodge and hide and duck

service which is not a good look for him. "Eventually, the judge is going to say that he has been served either on this occasion or in the future. "Wealthy people have guard gates

and walls. "They can get on their plane and go away. They can try to evade service and often do. But it doesn't work forever." Ms Giuffre's legal team can ask the High

Court in London to formally notify Andrew about her civil action under the Hague Service Convention. This is a treaty that governs requests between countries for evidence in civil or

commercial matters. Ms Giuffre, then Victoria Roberts, claims she was sexually assaulted by the Prince at socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's house in London, on Epstein's private island

in the Caribbean and in New York. Epstein, 66, killed himself in prison in August 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges.