More Legal Trouble for Bill Cosby!
A California civil jury has found Bill Cosby liable for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman back in 1972 and they’ve ordered him to pay $19.25 million in damages.
The woman, Donna Motsinger, was a restaurant server at the time. According to her lawsuit, Cosby invited her to one of his comedy shows in San Carlos, offered her wine and pills she thought were aspirin, and she later woke up at her home partially unclothed and unable to recall what happened. Jurors concluded Cosby sexually battered and assaulted her.
The jury awarded her $17.5 million for past mental suffering and $1.75 million for future suffering. They also found Cosby acted with “malice, oppression or fraud,” which opened the door to punitive damages. After a second phase of deliberations, the total verdict came to $19.25 million.
Cosby, now 88, did not testify at the trial. His attorney says they’re disappointed in the decision and plan to appeal.
The case was tried in Santa Monica, and it came years after Cosby’s 2018 criminal conviction in Pennsylvania was overturned on appeal. Motsinger first shared her allegations decades ago, and the lawsuit was filed after California changed its law to allow older claims to be brought forward.
