Bill Cosby must answer questions under oath in October in a lawsuit brought by a woman who accused the actor of sexually assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion in the 1970s, when she was 15 years old, a judge ruled this week.
In an order released Wednesday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered Cosby, 78, to give a deposition on Oct. 9, and his accuser, Judy Huth, to give a deposition on Oct. 15.
Huth, 56, claims in the civil suit that Cosby plied her with alcohol while she and a friend were at the mansion in 1974, and then sexually molested her by “taking her hand in his hand and performing a sex act on himself without her consent.”
Cosby’s attorneys have called the suit an attempt to extort the star.
The depositions were ordered two weeks after the California Supreme Courtrejected Cosby’s petition to review earlier rulings in the suit filed by Huth, which Cosby’s attorneys claimed were based on procedural errors. The deposition had been on hold pending Cosby’s petition.
Cosby’s attorneys also attempted to have Huth give a deposition first.
“We are pleased that we will now be able to move ahead without further delay on Ms. Huth’s case,” Huth’s attorney, Gloria Allred, said in a statement.
Huth is one of dozens of women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexually assaulting them years ago. Cosby and his representatives have repeatedly denied the allegations. Cosby has not been charged with a crime.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to bring criminal charges after Huth made her allegations in December, saying the statute of limitations had long ago expired. Cosby has counter-sued Huth, accusing her of extortion.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com
Phil Helsel