Prince Andrew Photo: VCG

A US judge on Tuesday appeared skeptical of a bid by Britain's Prince Andrew to dismiss Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit accusing the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17 and being trafficked by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

During a hearing in Manhattan, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan heard arguments on the prince's contention that terms contained in a 2009 settlement between Epstein and Giuffre that paid her $500,000 to resolve a lawsuit she had filed against the financier prevented her from pursuing litigation against Andrew.

A provision in that settlement blocked Giuffre from suing certain third parties, with language to "forever discharge" various people who "could have been included as a potential defendant" in her resolved lawsuit against Epstein. 

Settlements of US civil lawsuits can restrict plaintiffs from pursuing further litigation, even against third parties.

Andrew has denied Giuffre's accusations that he forced her to have sex more than two decades ago at the London home of former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and abused her at two other Epstein properties. At the hearing, the prince's Los Angeles-based lawyer Andrew Brettler said Queen Elizabeth II's second son was shielded from Giuffre's lawsuit under the terms of the settlement with Epstein, who did not admit liability. 

"'Potential defendant' is someone who could have been named a defendant in that lawsuit, but was not," Brettler said. "I think it's unquestionable that Prince Andrew could have been sued in the 2009 Florida action."