Bill Cosby ordered to pay sex abuse victim nearly $60M after judge denies requiest for new trial
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Cosby was found liable in March in relation to a 2023 lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a former waitress after a show of his in 1972.
Bill Cosby‘s attempt to have a new trial in relation to a March judgment that said the disgraced comedian had to pay an alleged victim $19 million has been denied.
A Los Angeles County Judge stated Friday that there wasn’t “any irregularity” proven by Cosby in the need for a new trial and that the judgment, which also included $40 million in punitive damages, was not “excessive,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
“The Court finds that there was sufficient evidence … to support the jury’s finding that defendant’s conduct caused plaintiff’s damages,” Judge Bradley S. Phillips wrote in Friday’s order.
In March, a jury awarded former waitress Donna Motsinger $19.25 million, concluding that Cosby was responsible for a 1972 incident where she was drugged and raped after one of his shows.
“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness,” Motsinger’s lawsuit stated. “The last thing Ms. Motsinger recalls were flashes of light. She woke up in her house. with all her clothes off, except her underwear on – no top, no bra, and no pants. She knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby.”
The suit was originally filed in 2023 under California legislation that temporarily revived certain expired sexual assault claims.
“Bill Cosby used his power, celebrity, and influence to silence his victims for decades. The jury saw the truth and recognized the bravery Donna showed in standing up for herself. The verdict brings vindication for our client, who has spent 54 years battling the trauma she endured from this evil predator,” Spencer Lucas, Motsinger’s attorney, said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone after the verdict.
Cosby has denied all allegations against him, from Motsinger and several other women who have accused him of sexual assault over the years. The 88-year-old originally filed an appeal of the March verdict back in April, a verdict that originally included $17 million for past mental suffering and $1.75 million for future mental suffering, along with $40 million in punitive damages. Motsinger, now 84, considered the verdict a true measure of accountability.
“This verdict is not just about me — it’s about finally being heard and holding Mr. Cosby accountable,” she said in a statement released by her attorneys. “I have carried the weight of what happened to me for more than 50 years. It never goes away. Today, a jury saw the truth and held him accountable.”