Bill Cosby Spiral - H 2014
AP ImagesBill Cosby is facing the prospect of a deposition in a live court dispute with one of his accusers.
Judy Huth is the plaintiff, who is suing for sexual battery and infliction of emotional distress over an alleged incident at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1974, when she was 15 years old. Because she was a minor at the time and says she only recently discovered her psychological injuries, she’s attempting to find a way around the statute of limitations that have limited other lawsuits against Cosby.
In response to Huth’s complaint, Cosby’s attorneys attacked the way it was filed. There weren’t two certificates of merit — one by the plaintiff’s lawyer and one by a mental-health practitioner — verifying a “reasonable and meritorious cause” for a lawsuit, as prescribed by legal code. It also was supposed to be filed against a “John Doe” instead of naming Cosby.
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Nevertheless, Cosby couldn’t stop the lawsuit from happening and failed to get an appeals court to review the matter. Once the California Supreme Court declined review, Huth’s attorney, Gloria Allred, noticed a deposition.
Cosby’s attorneys hoped to have discovery paused at one point — they still are asserting other grounds to have the lawsuit trimmed or tossed — but most recently, there wasn’t much disagreement about a deposition happening. It was more about the timing. On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan made it official and gave the green light.
“The Court grants Plaintiff’s ex parte application and orders the deposition of Defendant to proceed first, followed by that of the Plaintiff,” stated the judge’s order.
It’s said that the parties have agreed that Cosby’s deposition will take place on Oct. 9, with Huth’s to follow on Oct. 15.
