|
 It marks the first time Cosby, 78, has been directed to
testify under oath in response to a complaint of sexual
misconduct against him since a deposition he gave in a separate
Pennsylvania case he settled out of court nine years ago.
The latest order, made public on Wednesday, a day after a Los
Angeles Superior Court judge entered it, requires Cosby to
submit under oath to questions from the lawyer of his Los
Angeles accuser, Judy Huth, on Oct. 9. Now in her 50s, Huth must
likewise answer questions from his attorneys on Oct. 15.
Huth gained somewhat of a tactical advantage from the judge's
decision compelling Cosby to go first.
The precise times and places were not revealed, but Huth's
lawyer, Gloria Allred, has said she expects to depose Cosby in
Massachusetts, where he resides.
The way for the depositions, a key part of the discovery process
in civil litigation, was cleared when the California Supreme
Court last month denied Cosby's petition to review the case,
dealing a final blow to his efforts to fend off Huth's lawsuit.
Her complaint, brought in December 2014, charged that Cosby
sexually abused her by putting his hand down her pants and then
"taking her hand in his hand and performing a sex act on himself
without her consent."
Huth alleged the encounter occurred days after she and a female
friend met Cosby at a park where he was filming a movie.
According to her account, Cosby invited the girls the following
weekend to his tennis club, where they all had drinks together
before he led them on to the Playboy Mansion.
Cosby's attorney Martin Singer has called Huth's allegations
false and "defamatory".
[to top of second column] |
Huth is one of more than 40 women who have come forward in the past
year to say that they were raped or molested by Cosby after he gave
them alcohol or drugs in incidents dating back decades.
In 2006 Cosby reached a confidential settlement for an undisclosed
sum with a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand, who
accused him of sexual assault. Parts of the deposition he gave in
that case were made public last month.
Huth's complaint is one of at least four pending civil suits against
Cosby stemming from such accusations.
However, Allred has said Huth's is the only one seeking damages for
the alleged misconduct itself, citing repressed psychological
injuries that she claims were only discovered in the last three
years, and therefore are allowed under the statute of limitations.
The other plaintiffs are suing for defamation instead.
Cosby has never been criminally charged. He and his lawyers
acknowledge marital infidelity on his part but have consistently
denied allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
(Editing by Sandra Maler, Eric Walsh and Ken Wills)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
