By Aaron Miller-
A lawsuit launched by Model Janice Dickinson’s defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby can progress after the California Supreme Court declined a review an appeal from the comedian on Thursday.
The case had been stayed pending the outcome of the court’s ruling on the matter. Dickinson said in 2014 that Cosby drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe in 1982, then sued him after he and his representatives said her claims were false.
Cosby’s attorneys had appealed Dickinson’s use of a press release and a letter to media outlets as evidence of defamation, saying that would violate First Amendment rights.
Attorneys also objected to Dickinson including a former Cosby lawyer, Marty Singer, as a defendant, arguing it would hurt the ability of attorneys to represent their clients. Dickinson had been favoured by a Californian Appeal Court last November, but the Supreme Court refused to uphold the appeal courts position. Her lawyer, Jeremy B Rosen, said in an email statement:
“While we believe the Supreme Court should have reviewed the erroneous appellate court opinion, we now have the opportunity to address these claims on the merits and fully expect that Mr. Singer will be dismissed from the lawsuit again,” Singer’s lawyer, Jeremy B. Rosen, said in an email.
Dickinson’s attorney, Lisa Bloom, said she also looks forward to resuming the battle in court.
“We have been fighting this case for three years and we will continue fighting until we get Mr. Cosby’s deposition, until Ms. Dickinson gets a trial before a jury, and on any further appeals as necessary,” she said in an email. “Ms. Dickinson is strong and I am committed to this case.”
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Her lawsuit is one of many against Cosby, who also is scheduled to face a new trial on sexual assault charges in Philadelphia next month.Yesterday, Thursday, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Thursday that five more accusers can testify against the entertainer when he is retried on charges he drugged and molested Andrea Constand.
Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, downplayed the impact of the decision.
The first trial against Cosby collapsed when the jury were deadlocked, but prosecutors have this time sought permission to have 19 accusers testify, relying in part on a legal theory called the doctrine of chances that was recently accepted by a Pennsylvania appeals judge and says the more something happens the less likely it’s a mistake.
“It shows how desperate they [prosecutors] are, and this is a very weak case,” he said in a text message. “Mr. Cosby is innocent of these charges.” 80 year old Cosby, has been accused of a range of sexual misconducts by several women since the scandal erupted in 2015. The comedian denies all the charges.
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