The lawsuit, filed a day before a key hearing in the criminal case against Cosby, names accuser Andrea Constand, her lawyer, her mother and the publisher of the National Enquirer.
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Back in 2004, Constand (then working for Cosby’s beloved alma mater, Temple University) went to police to allege Cosby had sexually assaulted her after giving her some pills that made her pass out. Cosby will either risk going to trial or will have to take a plea deal and serve up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The lawsuit remained under seal Wednesday, and Cosby’s lawyers declined to comment on the nature of the allegations in it.
A lawyer for the National Enquirer’s publisher, Boca Raton, Florida-based American Media Inc., did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.
Constand’s mother, her lawyers, and the company that owns the National Enquirer were also defendants in the suit.
Bill Cosby has sued a woman whose allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her sparked the only criminal charges against the disgraced comedian in his running sexual assault scandal, court records showed on Wednesday.
“Defendants are blatantly violating their confidentiality obligations under the 2006 Confidential Settlement Agreement”, his attorneys wrote, “including by intentionally disclosing information they promised to keep confidential as consideration for the settlement”.
Cosby’s lawsuit also discusses the way that The New York Times was able to obtain a full copy of Cosby’s decade-old deposition from Constand’s lawsuit.
Dozens of women have accused Cosby of plying them with drugs and alcohol in a series of alleged sexual assaults dating back to the 1960s.
Cosby was arrested in December just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired. Troiani mentioned at the hearing that Cosby had sued her but did not elaborate.
Earlier this month a judge ruled the case can proceed despite objections from Cosby’s lawyers who said the legendary comedian only gave the deposition because he and his lawyers were led to believe it wouldn’t be used in a criminal prosecution. Cosby himself sought this hearing to ascertain whether he still had a promise from the previous D.A. that he was immune from being charged over the encounter with Ms. Constand.
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“But its filing underscores the contentious legal fight on the sidelines of the criminal case between lawyers for the 78-year-old entertainer and those who might provide evidence against him”, the Inquirer reports.
