Bill Cosby: Attorneys Want Accuser Andrea Constand To Pay Back Settlement Money

On Friday, Bill Cosby’s attorneys argued that Andrea Constand, a woman who accused the actor of sexual assault, failed notify him last year before speaking to police, which broke the terms of her confidential 2006 civil lawsuit settlement. They’re are now asking for the accuser to pay back the amount given to her in connection with the settlement agreement.

Global News reports that Cosby met Constand at Philadelphia’s Temple University in 2004, where she worked at the time. Cosby was a long-time trustee of the school. In 2005, Constand contacted the police and said that Cosby sexually assaulted her when she went to his house for advice on her career. At the time, no arrests were made. A decade later, however, Cosby was criminally charged after the sealed deposition was leaked.

According to Cosby’s attorney, Samuel Silver, Constand signed a 2006 court settlement agreement stating that she would advise the actor and his defense team before she talked to law enforcement again about the case. Constand broke that agreement when she spoke to police last year amid Cosby’s criminal case. Silver said the following.

“If there was a request for her to speak to law enforcement, she was supposed to advise us.”

The breach-of-contract lawsuit against Constand was first filed in February. It’s one of the several lawsuits filed against women who’ve accused the actor of sexual assault. Other “defamation of character” counter lawsuits were entered against his accusers in California, Massachusetts, and Pittsburgh.

Attorney Dolores Troiani, who represents Constand, stated that it was “disturbing and distasteful” for Cosby’s attorneys to file a lawsuit seeking money. She’s asking the court to dismiss the case. Cosby’s lawyers also asked that the comedian’s deposition in connection the lawsuit against Constand be placed on hold while they prepare for his criminal case. Troaini disagrees.

“This is hanging over their heads. If he’s not ready to proceed, then he should withdraw (the suit) or it should be dismissed.”

Additionally, Troiani argued that it was Cosby himself who first breached the contract of the settlement agreement.

“If it’s a breach of agreement for her, then he certainly breached it first.”

U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno, who’s overseeing the lawsuit against Constand, hasn’t made any decisions yet. However, a statement issued by the judge makes it seem as if he’s inclined to let the case move forward.

“Does this depend somewhat on who spoke first and who spoke second? Isn’t there an allegation that the agreement was mutually abandoned, therefore freeing the other party to speak?”

USA Today reports that the amount of money Constand received for the 2006 settlement agreement has never been made public.

Cosby’s attorneys have been relentlessly pursuing Constand since the deposition transcript was unsealed, which is likely because Constand’s case is the only one that imposed criminal charges on the comedian. Out of nearly 60 women who have come forward to make accusations against Cosby, Constand’s case is the only one that was within the statute of limitations to pursue a criminal case against him.

Cosby now faces two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault in regards to the Constand case. He previously said that the incident was consensual and is fighting to get the criminal charges dropped. The next hearing for his criminal case is scheduled for July 7 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Bill Cosby also named both Troiani and Bebe Kivitz (Constand’s other attorney), and Constand’s mother, Gianna, as defendants in the breach-of-contract lawsuit. He accuses them all of willingly inviting unwanted news coverage of the case and of violating the settlement as well, as all three signed the same confidentiality clause that Constand did.

[Photo by Matt Rourke-Pool/Getty Images]