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 Camille Cosby's lawyers have accused the attorneys for the seven
women of acting improperly during a Feb. 22 deposition about the
lawsuit, one of a series of actions by women who have accused Bill
Cosby of sex abuse, toppling him from his position as one of the
United States' best-loved entertainers.
"Plaintiffs' counsel, Joseph Cammarata, asked Mrs. Cosby a litany of
improper and offensive questions, including questions regarding her
own sexual relations, her own political commentary, and the death of
the Cosby's son in 1997," they said in papers filed in U.S. District
Court in Massachusetts. "These questions were irrelevant to the
issues in this case and plainly were designed to annoy, embarrass,
and oppress the witness."
Cammarata has previously defended asking Camille Cosby, 72, direct
questions about sex, saying it was appropriate given the subject
matter involved. The seven women have sued Bill Cosby for
defamation, saying that he lied when he denied sexually assaulting
them.
 "Are we going to talk about the sexual history? Of course. Are we
going to talk about the extramarital activity? Yes," Cammarata said
in a January hearing. "We already know these subject matters."
More than 50 women have accused Bill Cosby, best known for his role
as the father character in the 1980s television hit "The Cosby Show"
of sexually assaulting them, often after plying them with drugs and
alcohol, in a string of incidents dating back decades.
Most of the alleged crimes are too old to be the subject of criminal
prosecution. But authorities in Pennsylvania charged the 78-year-old
entertainer with sexually assaulting a woman in 2005.
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Cosby, who is out on bail, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy, who will preside over
Tuesday's hearing in Worcester, Massachusetts, last week ruled that
any further depositions of Bill Cosby related to the suit will be
postponed until after the Pennsylvania criminal charges are
resolved.
Tamara Green filed the Massachusetts lawsuit in December 2014. She
was later joined by six other women who say Cosby sexually assaulted
or abused and defamed them by calling them liars.
Cosby has counter sued, accusing the women of defaming him.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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