Thanks Steven! I agree with you that it would be a mistake for the defendant to appear at all in the NY case if his intention is to take the default. “Run silent, run deep” is the best rule in such cases. But it appears that a US lawyer has entered an appearance on the Duke of York’s behalf, which tells me that he does not intend to challenge service, since now the judge is highly likely to approve a request for alternative service by service on the US lawyer.

An additional point – the media suggests that Prince Andrew’s lawyers are relying on a settlement agreement between the Plaintiff and Epstein. Firstly, that is probably subject to a NDA (insidious though that may be), and secondly, if they decide to default, if they have filed any papers with the NY court, that would be a defence on the merits and could well constitute a submission to the jurisdiction, which would make a default judgment, which might otherwise be unenforceable, enforceable.

Steven Loble