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What civil settlements or court rulings has Virginia Giuffre obtained, and what were their legal bases and amounts?
Executive summary
Virginia Giuffre obtained multiple civil settlements and at least one published court ruling tied to her litigation against Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew and others: court papers show a $500,000 settlement with Epstein in 2009 (released under her maiden name) and an undisclosed multi‑million settlement with Prince Andrew in 2022; her defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell was settled (terms undisclosed) and later produced appellate litigation over sealed documents (including a 2025 Second Circuit decision directing further review of unsealing) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Available sources do not state a complete, authoritative total of all monies Giuffre received across cases; several settlements are described as confidential or “undisclosed” [6] [2] [7].
1. The Epstein settlement: a 2009 release and a $500,000 payment
Court papers unsealed and reported by The Guardian indicate that Giuffre (then Virginia Roberts) received $500,000 from Jeffrey Epstein as part of a 2009 settlement that included a broad release of claims — language that later became central to disputes over whether that release barred other suits against Epstein associates [1]. The Guardian’s reporting highlights the settlement’s operative clause: upon receipt of the stipulated sum Giuffre agreed to “remise, release, acquit, satisfy and forever discharge” many potential claims tied to Epstein [1].
2. Prince Andrew: a confidential multi‑million settlement resolving a U.S. civil complaint
Giuffre sued Prince Andrew in U.S. federal court alleging sexual assault; that case was resolved by an out‑of‑court settlement in February 2022 and dismissed by stipulation in March 2022 [8] [7]. Multiple outlets report the settlement as a multi‑million‑pound or multi‑million‑dollar deal, but the parties described the payment amount as “undisclosed” and the agreement included language that the settlement did not constitute an admission of liability [2] [9] [3]. Reporting also notes that the settlement included a donation to Giuffre’s charity [2] [9].
3. Ghislaine Maxwell: defamation suit settled, then document fights in court
Giuffre brought a defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015 alleging Maxwell called her accusations “obvious lies.” That defamation case was settled in 2017 according to reporting, and a later litigation thread focused on whether discovery and deposition materials should be unsealed; a 2025 Second Circuit opinion ordered renewed review of contested sealing decisions and emphasized that documents are “judicial documents” at the time of filing [6] [4] [5]. Courthouse News and court dockets report the settlement as undisclosed and the flurry of post‑settlement motions centered on public access, not on new money awards [6] [4].
4. Alan Dershowitz and other legal resolutions: statements and no reported large payments
Giuffre reached a resolution with Alan Dershowitz in 2022 in which both sides issued statements; reporting says no money exchanged hands and Giuffre acknowledged she “may have misidentified” Dershowitz, language the Miami Herald characterized as vindicating Dershowitz [10]. This illustrates that not all high‑profile cases produced monetary awards to Giuffre; some settlements took the form of mutual statements or other non‑monetary terms [10].
5. Legal bases: releases, defamation theory, and child‑victim statutes
The legal bases in Giuffre’s claims varied by defendant: the 2009 Epstein payment arose from a settlement of claims against Epstein and included a broad release that later was invoked by defendants as a defense to related suits [1]. The Prince Andrew suit alleged sexual assault under state and federal tort theories and invoked New York’s Child Victims Act in filings, but was resolved by settlement without trial and with a clause disclaiming admission of liability [8] [9]. The Maxwell litigation arose under defamation law and generated extensive discovery that courts have since considered for unsealing [4] [5].
6. Amounts: confirmed figures, undisclosed sums, and reporting estimates
The only clearly reported, court‑documented dollar figure in available sources is the $500,000 Epstein settlement disclosed in unsealed court papers [1]. The Prince Andrew settlement is repeatedly described as “multi‑million” in press accounts and estimated in some reports at differing levels (some outlets have speculated figures up to millions or even cited a £12m figure in later contested reporting), but primary sources assert the payment was undisclosed in court filings [2] [3] [11]. Maxwell’s and Dershowitz’s resolutions are described as undisclosed settlement terms or non‑monetary statements [6] [10].
7. What remains contested or sealed — and why that matters
A major legal aftershock of these litigations has been fights over sealed discovery. The Second Circuit in 2025 instructed more searching review of whether deposition transcripts and other materials should be unsealed, underscoring that many substantive details remain partly or fully sealed despite settlements [5] [4]. That judicial focus means public reporting must often rely on partial records and press accounts; available sources do not provide a single, comprehensive ledger of every payment Giuffre received [5].
Limitations and takeaways: reporting confirms a $500,000 Epstein payout and a confidential multi‑million settlement with Prince Andrew, plus settled defamation litigation with Maxwell and a mixture of monetary and non‑monetary resolutions in other matters; however, many key documents remain sealed or settlements undisclosed, so an exact aggregate of amounts is not established in the cited sources [1] [2] [6] [5].