Several documents have been released in the 2004 lawsuit filed on behalf of former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, who demanded damages after she accused former trustee and longtime comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her.
During a 2005 deposition, Cosby admitted giving Quaaludes to women he intended to have sex with, documents first obtained by the Associated Press show. When Constand attorney Delores Troiani asked who these women were, Cosby attorney and Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick O’Connor repeatedly instructed his client not to answer.
In a telephone conference call in November 2005 between the two parties and United States District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno, Troiani argued the case should be made public for multiple reasons.
“Our courts are not secret,” she said during the call, which was published in a Philadelphia Magazine article. “Our courts are open to the public and they’re open to the public for a reason. And that is to preserve the integrity of this process. And Mr. Cosby should not be granted star status in the system.”
O’Connor said the discovery evidence in the case should be kept between the two parties, because that’s what is normal legal procedure.
“Discovery is between the parties,” he said during the call. “It’s not what occurs in open court. What Ms. Troiani has been attempting to do in this case is create issues which would enable her to file motions which would circumvent the confidentiality this Court has imposed on discovery.”
The two sides settled out of court in October 2006, agreeing to keep the details of the settlement confidential.
But Troiani filed a motion in U.S. District Court yesterday alleging that multiple Cosby representatives violated the confidentiality agreement in statements to media.
One statement mentioned in the motion is from O’Connor, in a December 2014 New York Times article. Constand’s attorneys argued this was another breach of the confidentiality agreement.
“If this conduct is true, Bill Cosby has major issues,” O’Connor told the Times. “Bill’s got to live with that. But maybe, if he’s innocent and his relations were consensual – wow.” He told the Times reporter that he couldn’t give an opinion without violating the agreement.
This week, ABC News published a statement that revealed why Cosby settled with Costand.
“The only reason Mr. Cosby settled [with Constand] was because it would have been embarrassing in those days to put all those women on the stand and his family had no clue,” The statement read. “That would have been very hurtful.”
Troiani said that the release of documents could help other women – approximately 49 women, according to the lawsuit – with their current legal battles with the longtime comedian.
“It is believed and therefore averred the release of these documents will assist other women who have been victimized and bring awareness to the fact that sexual assault is not just committed with a gun or knife but is also committed by mentors who engage in exploitative behaviors,” the lawsuit read.
Steve Bohnel can be reached at steven.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @Steve_Bohnel.
Joe Brandt contributed reporting.
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