12 women represented by Jordan K. Merson of Merson Law and five women working with Lisa Bloom of The Bloom Firm agreed to the parameters of the Epstein Estate Victim Compensation Fund.
These women have agreed to participate in a Victim Compensation Fund that will assess each claim before issuing a payout within 90 days.
Any of the women who agree to participate in the Fund will have to sign a four-page contract that states they can never again file legal action against the Epstein estate and co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn.
They will also be unable to file suit against “any entities or individuals who are or have ever been engaged by (Whether as independent contractors or otherwise), employed by, worked in any capacity for, or provided any services to Mr Epstein, the Epstein Entities or the Epstein Estate.”
This agreement does not, however, prohibit the women from suing individuals they may have been trafficked to while being abused by Epstein.
That means at least one woman, Virginia Roberts, could file a lawsuit against Prince Andrew.
Roberts claims she was trafficked to Prince Andrew and has provided a photo of her and the royal at the home of Ghislaine Maxwell, but the Prince has strenuously denied her claim and suggested the image of them is photoshopped.
The Fund also allows the women to remain anonymous should they wish, but they are also not barred from speaking about their compensation or allegations against Epstein.
After receiving their compensation, the women will also have three days to “dismiss with prejudice any legal actions whether lawsuits, probate claims or otherwise that Releasor has filed against any of Releasees, with each party to bear her, his or its own costs and attorneys fees.”
Merson confirmed the validity if the documents, telling The Sun: “Yes, my clients want to proceed with the voluntary fund so that they have an opportunity to be fully compensated for their significant injuries.”
Lisa Bloom also confirmed to The Sun that her five clients have agreed to participate in the Fund.
These settlements are occurring far faster than many anticipated, with some estimating it would take decades before these women saw any money.
A quarterly accounting report filed by executors for the estate that was obtained by The Sun shows that 33 individuals or companies are seeking damages to be paid out from Epstein’s $600 million trust.
A majority of the complaints against Epstein have been filed in three separate courts in New York.
Ten are being tried in federal court in the Southern District of New York, the same venue where Epstein was being tried on criminal charges prior to taking his own life in August.
Six of the 10 have been filed by women who chose not to identify themselves in court papers, while the other four were filed by women who have gone public with their allegations of sexual abuse.
Maria Farmer, who claims she was violently groped by Epstein and Maxwell in 1996, is one of the women.
Her sister Annie, who alleges that Epstein made her give him a topless massage when she was underage, also filed a separate complaint.
Teresa Helm was 22 when she claims Epstein sexually assaulted her during a job interview.
Juliette Bryant alleges that she was raped by Epstein multiple times, and that he emailed her a request for nude photos just months before his arrest.
In addition to those 10 lawsuits, nine others have been filed in New York but in state Supreme Court.
This includes one complaint that lists nine Jane Does as plaintiffs and another filed by two unnamed females.
There are also complaints filed by Jennifer Araoz an Teala Davies.
Araoz sued Epstein days after he went to prison, and then refiled to sue his estate after his death.
She claims the convicted pedophile abused her for over a year at his Upper East Side townhouse while she was attending a nearby school.
That complaint also names three of the women in Epstein’s orbit as defendants – Maxwell, Lesley Groff and Cimberly Espinosa.
Davies claims she was raped for years by Epstein and then tossed aside when she informed him she had developed an eating disorder.
Original article found here.
