A jury on Monday ordered Bill Cosby to pay nearly $19 million in damages after finding him liable for sexually assaulting a woman who worked as a waitress in 1972.
The plaintiff, Donna Motsinger, claimed in her lawsuit that Cosby drugged and raped her after picking her up in a limousine and taking her to one of his comedy shows in San Carlos, California. At the time, she worked at the Trident in Sausalito, where Cosby was a regular while recording a stand-up album nearby.
According to the suit, Cosby developed a friendship with her and invited her to the show. She alleged he offered her wine in the limousine, after which she began to feel unwell upon arriving at his dressing room. She said she drifted in and out of consciousness and later woke up at home partially undressed.
The trial began in early March, with the jury awarding $19.25 million in compensatory damages and determining that punitive damages should also be imposed. A separate hearing will decide the amount of those additional damages.
Cosby’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said the decision would be appealed. “We are disappointed but will be appealing,” she said.
Cosby denied the allegations, maintaining that he neither drugged nor assaulted Motsinger. His legal team also described her claims as speculative, arguing that she could not recall the events clearly.
Motsinger filed the case in 2023, after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law temporarily lifting the statute of limitations for certain sexual assault claims.
Cosby, now 88, was previously ordered to pay $500,000 to Judy Huth, who accused him of assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was 16. He dropped his appeal in that case in January.
He was also convicted in Pennsylvania in 2018 on sexual assault charges and served three years in prison before the conviction was overturned on appeal due to a violation of a prior agreement not to prosecute.
