A California judge, in a ruling made public on Tuesday, refused
Cosby's second attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a woman who
accused the entertainer of sexually abusing her when she was 15 at
the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.
In New York, a federal judge ruled against Cosby's effort to compel
the publisher of New York magazine to provide access to unedited
interviews of six women who are suing him over separate abuse
allegations.
Representatives for Cosby declined to comment.
More than 50 women have publicly accused Cosby of sexually
assaulting them, often after plying them with alcohol or drugs in
instances dating back decades. Many of the accusations are too old
to be litigated, but the mounting scandal has knocked Cosby, 78, off
his pedestal as one of the most popular, family-friendly
entertainers in America.
As star of the long-running hit TV comedy "The Cosby Show" in the
1980s and early '90s, Cosby played a loving dad who was a model of
responsible fatherhood. He has acknowledged marital infidelity but
denied ever engaging in non-consensual sexual behavior.
CALIFORNIA CASE
In the California case, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Craig Karlan sided with Cosby's accuser, Judy Huth, in allowing her
case to proceed, rejecting defense assertions that the lawsuit was
barred under the statute of limitations.
The judge ruled that Huth properly brought her case under a
California law allowing childhood abuse victims to sue as adults
within three years of claiming to have realized they suffered
repressed psychological damage.
Cosby lost a previous bid to fend off the same lawsuit on similar
grounds last year.
Huth, now in her 50s, sued Cosby in December 2014, alleging that he
plied her with alcohol and molested her during an encounter at the
Playboy Mansion in 1974.
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Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, said Huth's next step would be to take
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's deposition in May.
In Pennsylvania, authorities charged Cosby in December with sexually
assaulting a woman in 2004. A judge on Tuesday scheduled a May 24
preliminary hearing in that case, in which prosecutors planned to
outline evidence against Cosby. A Pennsylvania appeals court on
Monday rejected Cosby's bid to have the case thrown out.
At least nine other women are suing Cosby for defamation, arguing
they were smeared by his public assertions that their allegations
were false.
In New York, U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan ruled
against Cosby's effort to compel New York Media LLC to provide
access to unedited interviews of six women pursuing a civil lawsuit
against him.
Gardephe said Cosby's subpoena request "bordered on frivolous" and
was "wildly inconsistent" with New York's press shield law, which
sets a high standard for when litigants can seek information from
media organizations.
"The subpoena, in my judgment, is a fishing expedition," he said in
court.
(Additinal reporting by Piya-Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles and Joseph Ax
in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Richard Chang)
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