Cosby sues accuser Constand, lawyer, mother over contract

The new lawsuit targets Constand, her mother, two of her attorneys and the parent company of National Enquirer and according to sources, deals with promised confidentiality. The defendants, in this case, are subject to a confidentially clause, as a result of a confidential settlement between Cosby and Constand in 2005.

Constand told investigators that Cosby drugged and raped her at his Pennsylvania home back in 2004 She also filed a lawsuit against him.

Matt Rourke/AP Bill Cosby’s lawyers have argued that he had a promise from a former prosecutor that he would never be charged for his alleged sexual harassment of Andrea Constand. “Such a cavalier attitude to the confidentiality of Defendant’s deposition is … in direct violation of the confidentiality provisions to which she freely consented”, O’Connor wrote.

Constand and her lawyers Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz have fought with Cosby and his lawyers over the terms of the pact, and called on U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno several times to determine whether either side had breached the settlement.

An entertainer who built a career on family-friendly comedy, Cosby now faces accusations from more than 50 women that he sexually assaulted them, often after plying them with drugs and alcohol, in a series of attacks dating to the 1960s.

The New York Times reported that in a 2005 deposition in Constand’s civil case, Cosby said he agreed to give the National Enquirer an exclusive interview about her accusations after it promised to scrap an article about a second woman’s claims.

This story has been corrected to say the judge refused to send Cosby’s appeal of a key pretrial issue directly to the state Superior Court.

Dozens of women in recent years have come forward and accused Cosby of sexual impropriety spanning decades.

Representatives for Constand, her attorneys and American Media could not be immediately reached for comment. At the time, the District Attorney elected not to pursue charges, and she sued Cosby. The statute of limitations has expired in most of the cases against him.

Cosby, 78, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 8.

During the early February hearing, a judge denied Cosby’s motion to dismiss the case. It’s unclear who represents Boca Raton, Florida-based publisher American Media Inc.