Pa. woman’s defamation suit against Cosby tossed
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
A federal judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Pittsburgh-area woman who claims Bill Cosby defamed her when he and his representatives responded to allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her and other women.
The October lawsuit filed by Renita Hill, 48, of Baldwin, Pa., was dismissed with prejudice, meaning she cannot try to amend and re-file it.
Hill went public with her allegations in November 2014 in an interview on Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV in which she said she was “emboldened” by other women who had made similar accusations against Cosby. Her lawsuit said she was made out to be a “liar” and “extortionist” when the comedian, his wife and his attorney issued blanket denials.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab agreed with Cosby’s attorneys that the statements were opinions protected by the First Amendment.
“Even considering these three statements together as a combined, single statement, this newly ‘conjoined’ statement does not lead to an inference that plaintiff is a ‘liar and an extortionist,’” the judge wrote.
Cosby has been criminally charged in suburban Philadelphia with sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. A judge has set a Feb. 2 hearing on a motion by Cosby’s attorneys to have those charges dismissed.