lawsuits

Bill Cosby’s Lawyers Seek to Get Janice Dickinson Defamation Suit Thrown Out

Bill Cosby Hearing
Bill Cosby. Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

Bill Cosby’s lawyers are trying to make one of his many legal battles go away. The latest filing comes in the defamation case levied against Cosby by Janice Dickinson, who says Cosby “branded her a liar” after Dickinson went public with allegations that Cosby drugged and raped her in the ’80s. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Cosby’s lawyers are asking the California Court of Appeal to throw the suit out. Their reasoning has to do with a letter that Marty Singer, Cosby’s former attorney, wrote to the press, in which he accused Dickinson of making up the sexual-assault allegations. (Singer was initially named with Cosby in the defamation suit but has since been dropped.) Now, Cosby’s current lawyer, Angela Agrusa, says in a filing that, “The Statement’s assertion that Ms. Dickinson’s rape allegations are fabrications constitutes Attorney Singer’s opinion, and because it also discloses the facts upon which that opinion is based, it cannot serve as the basis for a defamation suit.” She also makes two other main lines of argument. First, she writes that Singer’s representation of Cosby does not make Cosby liable for Singer’s own words, meaning that Cosby cannot be responsible for any alleged defamation. And second, she argues that Dickinson’s reputation is such that harm from Singer’s statements cannot be proven. Per the filing, “In her quest to remain in the public eye, Ms. Dickinson actively cultivates a reputation for outrageous behavior that includes substance abuse, mental lapses, and not being truthful.” The maneuver has yet to receive a response.

Bill Cosby Tries to Get Dickinson Suit Thrown