Last-ditch attempt to keep Bill Cosby's wife off stand fails
BOSTON - A federal judge has denied a motion by Bill Cosby's wife to throw out a subpoena requiring her to give a deposition in a lawsuit brought by seven women who accuse the comedian of sexually assaulting them decades ago.
The ruling issued Thursday by U.S. Judge Magistrate David Hennessey in Springfield, Massachusetts, means Camille Cosby is scheduled to be deposed by lawyers for the women on Wednesday.
In his 12-page decision, Hennessey said Camille Cosby failed to prove that she and her husband were protected by the state's marital disqualification law. He also rejected claims that the value of the testimony would be outweighed by the "undue burden" it would cause.
In a separate case, Cosby was charged last week with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home in Pennsylvania 12 years ago.
The criminal charges stem from a 2004 encounter with a former Temple University employee who claims he drugged and sexually assaulted her at his suburban Philadelphia home. The charges were filed just days before the statute of limitations was set to expire.
The seven accusers in the Massachusetts case filed their civil lawsuit in November, claiming Cosby sexually abused them and later defamed them by calling their accounts lies. They were unable to file lawsuits directly tied to their allegations because of the statute of limitations.
Cosby countersued in December for defamation, tortious interference and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
His lawyer, Monique Pressley, released a statement on Twitter after the countersuit was filed calling the women's accusations "malicious, opportunistic, and false and defamatory." It also states that the women "knowingly published false statements and accusations."
