New York judge rejects Bill Cosby’s ‘fishing expedition’ to get journalists’ notes
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby is assisted as he leaves after a court appearance in Norristown, Pa., on Feb. 3.
Reporting from NEW YORK — A New York judge has rejected what he calls Bill Cosby’s “fishing expedition” to get journalists’ notes, film and audio to fight a defamation lawsuit filed against him by seven women.
Federal Judge Paul Gardephe said in Tuesday’s ruling that Cosby’s request to force New York Magazine to turn over notes, video and audio from interviews it conducted with six women bordered on the frivolous.
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The interviews came as the magazine was preparing a July 2015 piece titled “I’m No Longer Afraid.” The article featured 35 women who described being sexually assaulted by the comedian.
Cosby’s lawyers were planning to use the material to find inconsistencies in statements by six of seven women who filed a defamation lawsuit against him in Boston.
Cosby’s lawyer declined to comment after Gardephe ruled.
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