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BRYAN BEDDER/GETTY IMAGESCamille Cosby has stood by her husband as more than 50 women have stepped forward with various claims of sexual assault. |
The federal judge hearing her appeal in Massachusetts issued a ruling Thursday that rejected her claim she's off limits and ordered the 71-year-old spouse to sit for the grilling.
The judge further declined her request for a formal protective order limiting the scope of questioning in the pending defamation case.
But it wasn't all bad news for Bill Cosby's wife of more than five decades. U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni did open the door for Camille to refuse to answer some inquiries related to her private conversations with Cosby.
He said U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy erred last December when he ruled that the Massachusetts marital disqualification rule only offered protection for Camille during trial testimony, not pre-trial discovery.
In fact, the rule "does apply to deposition testimony," so Camille could object to some questions on that basis, Judge Mastroianni said.
Camille's original deposition was set for Jan. 6, but the court postponed it pending the outcome of her appeal.
Camille stepped up her legal battle shortly after Cosby was charged with felony aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania on Dec. 30.
She filed paperwork expressing her concern she would be probed on the topic of her husband's sexual "proclivities."
"Mrs. Cosby's knowledge of her husband's 'proclivities' are not just irrelevant, they are precisely the type of intimate information that both Massachusetts and federal law protects," her paperwork argued.
The civil lawsuit at issue was brought by accuser Tamara Green in December 2014 and now includes plaintiffs Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie.
The women claim Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago and then defamed them more recently by calling them liars after they spoke out about his alleged abuse.
Cosby, 78, has counter-sued in the case, claiming the women are trying to "assassinate" his "honorable legacy."
Camille has stood by her husband as more than 50 women have stepped forward with various claims of sexual assault.
"The man I met and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work," she said in a 2014 statement that accused reporters of not properly vetting the accusers.
"He is a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend. He is the man you thought you knew," she said of Cosby.
Lawyer Gloria Allred now represents 29 Cosby accusers and was in court in Los Angeles last week when a judge ordered Cosby to sit for a second deposition in a civil lawsuit brought by her client Judy Huth.
Huth, 57, sued Cosby in December 2014 claiming he lured her to the Playboy mansion in 1974 and sexually assaulted her when she was only 15 years old.
Allred was in Colorado on Thursday with two other accusers — Beth Ferrier and Heidi Thomas — for an event supporting proposed state legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations on felony sexual assault.
Colorado currently has a 10-year statute of limitations on adult cases that don't involve DNA evidence.
"The courthouse door should never be slammed shut to prevent rape and sexual assault victims from seeking justice because of an arbitrary time period called the statute of limitations," Allred said.
Sixteen states including Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota and West Virginia do not have a statue of limitations on felony sexual assault cases.
A rep for Cosby praised the ruling Thursday, calling it a “critically important decision by the Court today, agreeing with Mrs. Cosby's appellate argument, affirming the confidential nature of and protection afforded to marital communications.”
With dailynews
