A California jury ordered veteran comedian Bill Cosby to pay more than $19 million to a woman who says he drugged and raped her more than five decades ago, in a civil trial that ended Monday in Santa Monica.The jury’s verdict found Cosby liable for sexual assault and battery in the case brought by Donna Motsinger, who says the incident occurred in 1972 when she was working as a waitress in Sausalito, California. The award includes about $17.5 million for past mental suffering and $1.75 million for future suffering. Jurors also determined that Cosby acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud,” which could lead to more punitive damages at a later stage.
Motsinger, now in her 80s, told the court that she met Cosby when he was a customer at the restaurant where she worked. According to her complaint, Cosby later invited her to a show and during the ride to the show gave her a glass of wine. She said she began to feel unwell and was given aspirin, which left her unconscious and weak. She said the next thing she remembers was waking up in her home partially naked.
But Cosby’s lawyers disputed the allegations. They said he did not recall any sexual contact with Motsinger, and if any contact occurred, it was consensual.
They also denied that he gave Motsinger drugs without her permission.The civil trial began decades after the alleged incident, made possible by changes in California law that extended the time period in which victims could take sexual assault cases to court.
The ruling comes as part of a series of challenges and lawsuits Cosby has faced over the years regarding allegations of sexual misconduct.Cosby, 88, was one of America’s most successful comedians and a household name from his long-running television show. But his reputation was severely damaged by numerous accusations of sexual assault over several decades. In 2018, he was convicted in Pennsylvania of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to prison, but was released in 2021 after the state Supreme Court overturned that conviction due to prosecutorial misconduct.In addition to the Motsinger case, Cosby faced other civil judgments. In 2022, another jury in California awarded a separate defendant $500,000 in a case involving allegations from the 1970s.After several hours of deliberation, the Santa Monica jury reached its verdict Monday and returned the $19.25 million prize. While the current figure includes compensation for Motsinger’s suffering, more punitive damages may be determined in the next phase of the trial, after the jury finds that Cosby acted intentionally.The decision represents a major moment in a long legal career for Motsinger, who has sought justice for more than 50 years. The award could provide financial compensation for her suffering, although it does not erase the decades that have passed since the events she described.Cosby’s legal team has indicated plans to appeal the ruling, meaning the case may continue in the courts for some time before the final outcome is known.
