A 2009 settlement agreement between financier Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse, was made public on Monday as part of Giuffre's civil lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew.
The agreement said Giuffre would be paid $500,000 as part of the deal.
It provided a release for "any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant" against various claims by Giuffre.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan will now have to decide whether that clause blocks Giuffre's lawsuit against Andrew for allegedly forcing her to have sex two decades ago when she was 17.
Andrew has denied the allegations and is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit. A hearing over his motion to dismiss is scheduled for Tuesday.