Judge: Model's Defamation Lawsuit Against Cosby Can Proceed
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge says she won't dismiss model Janice Dickinson's defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Debre Katz Weintraub ruled Tuesday that the denial that branded Dickinson a liar is a fact that can be determined at a trial.
Dickinson sued Cosby for defamation last year after his legal team denied her claim that the comedian drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe in 1982. The model said the denial caused her to feel victimized again and she tried to include the story in a 2002 memoir, but her publisher refused.
Cosby's attorneys tried to dismiss the suit, arguing Dickinson's story had changed over the years. They also contend letters Cosby's former attorney sent to reporters denying Dickinson's claims were protected legal communications.
They will have several other opportunities to challenge the case before it goes to trial.
Dickinson's attorneys have said a jury should determine the outcome of the case, and the letters by Cosby's ex-attorney should not receive special protection.
Tuesday's hearing comes a day after Dickinson revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and would have to undergo surgery and radiation treatment.
Dozens of women have accused Cosby, 78, of sexual abuse, but the statutes of limitations in most instances have passed.
The comedian has been charged with sexually assaulting a former Temple University worker at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He remains free on $1 million bail in the criminal case, which is on hold amid an appeal.
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