One of the ongoing defamation suits against Bill Cosby has been dismissed, with a judge ruling that the comedian did not defame one of the many women accusing him of sexual assault when he denied the charges, CNN reports.
Renita Chaney Hill filed her lawsuit against the comedian in October, saying the comedian impugned her reputation by painting her as a liar and an extortionist; in a ruling Friday, federal judge Arthur J. Schwab dismissed her suit, saying the statements in question — a quote from Cosby’s lawyer that the accusations were “unsubstantiated” and “fantastical,” and arguments from Cosby and his wife that they needed to be “fact-checked” — were “pure opinion” and thus “do not support a claim for defamation.”
The ruling does not affect the other defamation suits still open against Cosby, who is also facing charges of sexual assault stemming from a 2004 claim by Andrea Constand.
