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.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan is assessing a November 2009 settlement agreement in Florida between Epstein and Giuffre, which the 61-year-old prince's lawyers have said shields Andrew from claims by the 38-year-old Giuffre.

Andrew Brettler, the prince's lawyer, contended that Queen Elizabeth's second son was among the "potential defendants" who Giuffre released from liability when she accepted $500,000 to settle with Epstein.

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

But the judge said the "real question" is what Giuffre and Epstein intended in entering the settlement.

"We're talking about whether there are two or more reasonable interpretations," Kaplan told Brettler. "I understand your point of view. I understand the other point of view."

Kaplan said he would rule "pretty soon."

Andrew has denied Giuffre's accusations that he forced her to have sex at the London home of former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and abused her at two other Epstein properties. The prince has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell, 60, was convicted on Dec. 29 of recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. Giuffre's accusations were not part of that case, and she did not testify.