Attorneys for Cosby, accusers due back in Massachusetts court

[March 23, 2016]  BOSTON (Reuters) - Attorneys for Bill Cosby and those of seven women who have accused the comedian of sexual assault are due in a Massachusetts courtroom on Wednesday to argue about evidence in a defamation suit.

Tamara Green sued Cosby in December 2014, accusing him of lying when he publicly denied having sexually assaulted her, and six other women have since joined in the lawsuit. Cosby, 78, filed a countersuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts last month, accusing the women of defaming him.

Cosby built a long career on family-friendly comedy, but has been knocked from his perch by more than 50 women who have come forward to accuse him of sexually assaulting them, often after plying them with drugs or alcohol, in a series of incidents dating back decades.

The actor best known for his role playing Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable in the 1980s' TV hit "The Cosby Show" has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Most of the alleged cases of assault are too old to be cause for criminal prosecution.

But Pennsylvania prosecutors late last year filed charges against Cosby related to an alleged 2004 sex assault, just days before the statute of limitations was about to expire. He is currently out on bail awaiting trial.

Cosby's wife of a half-century, Camille Cosby, who is also his business manager, faced a day-long, closed-door deposition last month at a Springfield, Massachusetts, hotel in connection with the lawsuit.

Camille Cosby's attorneys have asked a judge to reject a request by the women's attorneys to have her sit for a second deposition, contending that it would create a "media circus" that would threaten her safety.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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