Pennsylvania federal judge Arthur J. Schwab sided with Bill Cosby and dismissed the defamation lawsuit filed by one of the women who accused the disgraced comedian of sexual assault. The lawsuit filed by 48-year-old Renita Hill in October was thrown out with prejudice, which means she can't amend or re-file the case.
According to TMZ, this is another victory for Cosby. Hill claimed that the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her as a teenager in the 80s while they were working together in the "Picture Pages" kids show. She filed the defamation case against Cosby in Pennsylvania for grounds that she was made to look like a liar after the comedian denied her accusations.
The Pennsylvania judge ruled that the statements made by Cosby and his lawyers were generalizations and were not defamatory. Two other criminal cases filed against him in LA were also rejected by the DA.
Renita Hill is just one of the 50 women who accused Cosby of assault. CNN wrote that Judge Schwab dismissed the three defamation claims saying that their statements "do not support a claim for defamation as defined by Pennsylvania law." There were three instances in the defamation case in which Cosby and his lawyers said requires fact-checking. They said that the women's accusations against Cosby are "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories."
In a report by the Daily Mail UK, Shwab stated his opinion saying, "Even considering these three statements together as a combined, single statement, this newly 'conjoined' statements does not lead to an inference that plaintiff is a 'liar and an extortionist.'"
Meanwhile, George Kontos, Hill's attorney, promised to appeal the ruling. Kontos said, "The basis of his opinion is these are constitutionally protected, 'pure' opinions." He added, "But, looked at as a whole, they contain all sorts of innuendo and undisclosed facts."
Cosby is recently facing a series of lawsuits from defamation to sexual assaults, coming from various women. He was charged of "aggravated indecent assault" in Pennsylvania in December for the alleged sexual assault on Andrea Constand in 2004. However, Cosby's lawyers say these claims were "unjustified."
