Bill Cosby sued by accuser for defamation, Tamara Green seeking unspecified damages

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Christian Examiner) -- Bill Cosby was sued for defamation on Wednesday in Massachusetts by a sexual assault accuser who said he branded her a liar in public statements made through his representatives denying her allegations of abuse. The eight-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield is at least the third lawsuit arising from a wave of sexual misconduct allegations leveled against Cosby by more than a dozen women during the past 10 years.

Cosby, known internationally as the educated and moral head of television's Huxtable family, previously has been very open about his faith in God and his Christian upbringing. His high-profile talks about education and uplift in the African-American community make the accusations of his immoral behavior even more shocking.

The plaintiff attached to the Wednesday filing, Tamara Green, 66, a lawyer who lives near San Diego, claims Cosby drugged her at a Los Angeles cafe with pills he told her were cold tablets, then sexually assaulted her at her apartment, leaving her two $100 bills on a coffee table before he left.

The alleged assault occurred in the early 1970s, the lawsuit said, while Green, then an aspiring model and singer, was helping Cosby raise money from investors to open a club.

Green is seeking unspecified punitive damages. The complaint was filed on her behalf by attorney Joseph Cammarata.

Cammarata and his client said her defamation suit provides a new avenue for Green and others accusing Cosby, 77, of sexually assaulting them decades ago to bring their allegations to court without complications posed by statutes of limitations.

"I want it put to a jury. I want it to be ended, finally, and I want my name restored," Green said by video link during a news conference at Cammarata's Washington law office. "Bill Cosby will also have his day in court ... and I look forward to that event."

Cosby and his legal team have categorically denied all claims and consistently remind the public that the comedian was never charged in any crime.

"I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos," Cosby told Florida Today in a recent interview.