The lawsuit, filed a day before a key hearing in the criminal case against Cosby, names accuser Constand, her lawyer, her mother and the publisher of the National Enquirer.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the suit, filed February 1 against accuser Andrea Constand and attorneys Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz, alleges breach of a confidentiality agreement signed years ago in connection with the alleged 2004 assault.
All of the defendants were reportedly subject to confidentiality clauses covering the settlement of lawsuit that Constand filed against Cosby back in 2005.
Constand accused Cosby of drugging and molesting her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He is arguing that she broke the terms of the settlement by cooperating with police who reopened the criminal case against him previous year.
Cosby has accused Troiani of repeatedly breaching the confidentiality agreement, and of giving up files “despite being under no legal obligations to furnish her files voluntarily to the District Attorney”, and “despite being expressly prohibited from doing so”.
Constand and her mother met with police past year as police reopened the case and ultimately arrested Cosby.
Cosby’s suit also named Constand’s mother and American Media Inc, which owns the National Enquirer magazine, as defendants, court records show.
In a motion filed in July in federal court, Cosby’s attorney, Patrick J. While he has been married for decades, Cosby has denied the accusations – many of which the statue of limitations expired in cases against him.
Cosby is seeking repayment of money paid to settle the lawsuit.
There have been more than 50 women who came forward with their stories regarding their encounter with Cosby, which dated from 1965 to 2008.
However, the Enquirer and Cosby reached an agreement, whereby Cosby would give the tabloid an exclusive detailing what he portrayed as Constand’s extortion attempt, in return for the tabloid dropping the story based on Ferrier’s accusations.
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Constand, a former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, met Cosby in 2002 when, according to prosecution documents, she believed he sought her out to be a “mentor” and “sincere friend”. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. A preliminary hearing on the criminal case is set for March 8th. The then-District Attorney declined to bring charges against the now 78-year-old comedian, but Constand pursued a civil suit which was settled in 2006.
