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21 January 2022 | Podcasts | Article by Alan Collins

Updates on the Prince Andrew and Manchester Football Club abuse cases: HJ Talks About Abuse


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In this podcast, we discuss two prominent stories in the media: the Prince Andrew case; and the failed case brought by some of Barry Bennell’s victims against Manchester City Football Club.

Prince Andrew failed to have the case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre dismissed on the basis that she was precluded from suing him having entered an agreement with Epstein. The judge dismissed that argument. Alan and Dani discuss the latest developments and the possible paths the case may travel down.

Alan and Dani also discuss the Manchester City judgment and the fact that the judge accepted the victims’ accounts of sexual abuse but had left it too late to sue, and in any event the club would not be liable for Bennell’ crimes.

It was accepted that Bennell had sexually abused the victims, but that the club was not liable. The judge was not prepared to allow the case to proceed out-of-time not so much because of the time gap, but because of the effect of the delay on the evidence. The Limitation Act 1981 allows a claim to procced outside the 3 year time limit for bringing a claim if basically in a case such as this it is fair to do so. In Alan’s experience a judge will not agree if key witnesses are dead or potentially important evidence is missing.

Both Alan and Dani discuss how the case may have a silver lining for CSA survivors as regards bringing clams against those responsible for abusers.

Finally they were asked by a listener to discuss the access to medical records in claims for compensation.

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at [email protected] or Danielle Vincent at  [email protected].

Author bio

Alan Collins

Partner

Alan Collins is one of the best known and most experienced solicitors in the field of child abuse litigation and has acted in many high profile cases, including the Jimmy Savile and Haut de la Garenne abuse scandals.  Alan has represented interested parties before public inquiries including the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, and IICSA (Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse).

Internationally, Alan works in Australia, South East Asia, Uganda, Kenya, and California representing clients in high profile sexual abuse cases. Alan also spoke at the Third Regional Workshop on Justice for Children in East Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok hosted by Unicef and HCCH (Hague Conference on Private International Law).

Disclaimer: The information on the Hugh James website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. If you would like to ensure the commentary reflects current legislation, case law or best practice, please contact the blog author.

 

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