PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former teen-actress who accuses Bill Cosby of molesting her asked a federal appeals court in Philadelphia to revive her defamation lawsuit against the actor-comedian.
Renita Hill, of Pittsburgh, says she was defamed when Cosby, his wife and his then-lawyer questioned abuse accusations raised in late 2014 by Hill and other women. Cosby lawyer Martin Singer had called the new accounts “fantastical,” “ridiculous,” “illogical” and beyond “absurd.”
A federal court in Massachusetts is allowing several women to sue Cosby for defamation over the statement, but a Pittsburgh judge dismissed Hill’s lawsuit.
The appeals court judges heard arguments Friday. They didn’t indicate when they would rule.
The 79-year-old Cosby is awaiting a criminal trial in June on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
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