Black curtains were hung to cordon off the wing of a Massachusetts hotel where Bill Cosby’s wife, Camille, was ordered to give a deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by seven women who claim the comedian sexually assaulted them.
Security was stationed at all entrances of the Springfield Marriott on Monday as lawyers from both sides vanished into a conference room. There had been no sighting of Camille Cosby before the session apparently began.
“Game on,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, said before the meeting. “We can attempt to vindicate our client’s interests.”
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The Cosbys fought hard to prevent the grilling, but a judge ruled late Sunday that Camille could be questioned under oath. The session is expected to last hours.
Camille Cosby’s lawyers say she has no information that would be relevant to the lawsuit and that her conversations with her husband are confidential under the law.
But she also served as his business manager, and the plaintiff’s lawyers contend she likely has information that did not come from private marital discussions.
Although the deposition is for a civil case, anything she says theoretically could be used in a criminal prosecution — and Cosby is under indictment in Pennsylvania.
“We’re hoping to learn about issues important to the case involving his relationship with her and his relationship with other women and his relationship with the business,” Cammarata said.
Cammarata said he would question Camille Cosby “carefully, respectfully,” but he left open the possibility that he could phone the judge if she refused to answer a question that he believes is fair game or that she could be called back for another sessions.
“She doesn’t want to be here. She does even want me to ask her her name,” the attorney said. “I intend to do what I need to do for my clients.” The seven women who filed suit claim Cosby defamed them by branding them liars after they came forward with stories of being sexually assaulted. He has filed a counter suit. Cosby has denied wrongdoing. Although dozens of women have accused him of sexual misconduct, he faces criminal charges in just one case — a sexual assault complaint from Andrea Constand, who says she was drugged and molested by the actor at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. He recently lost a bid to get the Constand case thrown out but is appealing. This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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