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Prince Andrew’s troubles seem to be going from bad to worse.
As if The Firm leaving him out in the cold isn't enough, he now fears financial ruin as his legal costs mount.
“Until very recently it appears the absolute enormity of this case and the consequences he faces hasn't hit him,” a royal source told the Daily Mail.
Andrew is being accused of sexual assault by the 38-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who claims he had sex with her while she was still a minor. She says their encounters were orchestrated by the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his sidekick, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The prince continues to deny all the allegations against him and says he doesn't recall even meeting her.
His lawyers recently filed paperwork stating why Virginia’s case should be scrapped but US Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that she can pursue a civil case against the disgraced prince. Prince Andrew's mother, Queen Elizabeth, recently stripped him of his patronages and military titles in response to the embarrassment the ongoing allegations have brought to the British royal family.
Now legal experts are saying should the matter go to trial, the prince could be looking at seven-figure legal fees, and with his personal fortune standing at £5 million (R103 million) as of 2017, paying for it all won't be easy.
“There's a very real prospect of him being completely broke,” a source told The Daily Mail.
Lawyers say the cost of settling with Virginia would set him back between £5 million and £10 million (about R206 million).
Last week, the 61-year-old father of Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice requested that the case be decided by a jury and not a judge.
But Lavely & Singer, the legal firm that's representing the prince, is doing its level best to avoid the case going to trial.
READ MORE | Out in the cold! All about Prince Andrew’s brutal exile from The Firm
Mitchell Epner, a former US federal prosecutor and attorney at Rottenberg Lipman Rich, estimates that Andrew’s trial in the US and legal fees could cost him between $200 000 (R3 million) and $300 000 (R4,6 million) a month. Epner predicts the trial could drag on for as long as six months. He says in addition, there's likely to be as much as $500 000 (R7,6m) in pretrial costs.
But if the case, which will completely expos the prince's private life and sexual habit, goes to trial, the costs could rocket. Epner estimates that it could cost between $4m (R61 million) and $6m (R92 million) or more.
“He has no good options in front of him. He only has bad options, and he has to decide which is the best bad option," Epner reckons.
American legal fees expert Jerome Studer, who's also the founder and director of Chicago-based Legal Fee Analytics, says there's no telling how long these sorts of litigations could go on for, which means fees could increase to eight figures.
The prince's lawyer, Andrew Brettler, charges around $2 800 (about R43 000) an hour, Bloomberg reports.
“Prince Andrew is looking at a significant amount of fees, at least seven figures if not eight, depending on how long the litigation goes,” Studer adds.
Studer says prince is expected to “fight this really hard” but whatever the outcome, the prince will have to pay up. If Andrew is found guilty, there's also a possibility that he'll have to pay damages for Virginia’s pain and suffering as well as medical bills.
And even if he wins, he'll still have to cover the legal costs of it all. Understandably, there are signs he's taking serious strain.
According to The Daily Mail, Andrew is set to sell his £18m (R371m) Swiss chalet after paying off the £6,6m (R136m) debt he still owed its former owner. Because there's still a big mortgage on the chalet, it isn't clear how much money he'll be getting out of the sale.
READ MORE | Jeffrey Epstein’s pilot recalls seeing Prince Andrew on the paedophile’s private jet
Either way, times are going to be tough for the prince. According to an analysis done by The Times last year, his "outgoings are well in excess of his reported income”.
His only known income is said to be a £20 000 (R412 000) pension from the Royal Navy and the £250 000 (R5m) annual stipend he gets from his mother, Queen Elizabeth. And there's been no word from royal sources about whether the queen intends to help her second son with the legal fees.
“Now the bills are mounting up and the possibility of a settlement, or even worse a judgment against him, is being widely discussed; he fears complete financial ruin,” an insider says.
SOURCES: NEWS.CO.AU, BLOOMBERG.COM, TIMESLIVE.CO.ZA, DAILYMAILY.CO.UK, NYPOST.COM, BBC.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK
