PHILADELPHIA, June 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. federal judge in Philadelphia has refused for now to unseal records related to the sexual assault civil suit against Bill Cosby.
The judge sealed the records in November and said will not be unsealed until Cosby's lawyers have completed their deposition of Cosby's accuser, said the Philadelphia Inquirer.
U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno also denied motions by the National Enquirer and Los Angeles entertainment lawyer Marty Singer to dismiss them from a related defamation lawsuit with former Temple University women's basketball executive Andrea Constand.
Constand alleged that Singer and the Enquirer defamed her when the tabloid published an exclusive interview with Cosby in March 2005.
Constand claims Cosby groped her at his Cheltenham Township mansion in January 2004. Cosby denies the allegation, and Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor decided not to bring criminal charges against Cosby. Constand then filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Cosby in March 2005.
Robreno denied motions by Singer to be dismissed from the parallel defamation case or have the case transferred to California. The judge also tossed aside motions by the Enquirer to dismiss it from the defamation case and not hold it liable for punitive damages.
