Judge to consider delay in Cosby sex battery lawsuit
LOS ANGELES -- A judge is scheduled to consider Wednesday whether to put a sexual battery lawsuit against Bill Cosby on hold until an unrelated criminal case against the comedian is resolved.
Cosby's attorneys are seeking the delay in a case filed by Judy Huth, a Riverside County woman who accuses the comedian of forcing her to perform a sex act on him when she was 15 years old. Huth sued Cosby in December 2014, claiming the abuse happened in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974.
Cosby's lawyers want the case put on hold until after Cosby resolves a sexual assault criminal case filed in Pennsylvania. That case, which involves a former Temple University employee, is on hold while Cosby appeals a ruling that he did not have an immunity deal with a former prosecutor. He is free on $1 million bail.
Attorneys for Cosby, 78, are also seeking to delay the comedian's second deposition in the case. He gave his first sworn testimony in the case last year, but a judge has ordered him to answer additional questions posed by Huth's attorney, Gloria Allred.
Cosby's former attorney vehemently denied Huth's accusations, accusing her former lawyer of attempting to extort Cosby for $250,000 before filing the lawsuit.
Dozens of women have accused Cosby of sexual abuse, but the statutes of limitations in most instances have passed.
On Tuesday, a judge rejected a motion by Cosby's lawyers to dismiss a defamation lawsuit by model Janice Dickinson. Cosby's lawyers say they believe the case should be dismissed and are considering an appeal.