World | Fri Apr 8, 2016 8:07pm EDT

Defamation lawsuits involving U.S. lawyer Dershowitz end in settlement

BY DAVID INGRAM

Prominent U.S. lawyer Alan Dershowitz and two victims' rights attorneys on Friday withdrew claims from a Florida court that they defamed each other during a legal fight about a woman who said she was trafficked for sex as an underage girl.

"The parties believe it is time to take advantage of the new information that has come to light on both sides during the litigation and put these matters behind them," the three lawyers said in a joint statement on Friday.

The defamation lawsuits stemmed from claims that the woman, Virginia Giuffre, made in another court in December 2014 that she was forced as a girl to have sex with Dershowitz, the UK's Prince Andrew, and other men. Dershowitz and Prince Andrew denied the allegations, and the allegations were later stricken from court records.

Giuffre was not a party to the defamation lawsuits or the settlement. A spokesman for the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, separate lawyers for her, said in a statement on Friday that she stands by her accusations.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]