SUPREME COURT OCTOBER 1, 2018 / 9:46 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

U.S. Supreme Court snubs review of defamation suit against Cosby

Andrew Chung
3 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Bill Cosby’s bid to avoid a defamation lawsuit brought by a well-known former model who said the comedian sought to destroy her reputation after she publicly accused him of rape.

The justices, acting six days after Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in Pennsylvania for a 2004 sexual assault involving another woman, declined to hear his appeal of a lower court ruling allowing the lawsuit brought by Janice Dickinson in state court in California to proceed.

The justices took their action in the Cosby case against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement opposing sexual assault and harassment at the same time that President Donald Trump’s nominee for a vacancy on the high court, Brett Kavanaugh, has denied allegations of his own sexual misconduct.

The court’s rejection of the case came on the first day of its new term, which runs through June.

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