5 women sue Bill Cosby under New York's Adult Survivors Act
Five women are suing Bill Cosby for sexual abuse, assault and battery under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which opened up the door for legal action on decades-old cases.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in New York state court, the women allege that the comedian “used his power, fame, and prestige” in “a nefarious, horrific way” to abuse them.
The suit also names NBCUniversal Media LLC and two other production companies as defendants, arguing that the companies, which aired Cosby’s television program, "enabled and aided" Cosby’s sexual assaults.
“Over the course of several decades, Bill Cosby engaged in the serial sexual assault of dozens of women for his sexual gratification while the co-defendants enabled and aided these sexual assaults to benefit financially by their association with Bill Cosby,” the lawsuit states.
Two of the plaintiffs accusing Cosby — Lili Bernard and Eden Tirl — were actresses on “The Cosby Show” and filed along with Jewel Gittens, Cindra Ladd and Jennifer Thompson.
“Now, these five Plaintiffs have come forward to stand up for themselves and others, after they were sexually abused and assaulted by Bill Cosby,” the suit says.
Cosby's spokesperson denied the allegations in a statement to CNN.
The suit is the latest brought under the New York Adult Survivors Act, which has lifted the statute of limitations on sexual assault claims for a one-year window in the state.
One recent suit accuses billionaire Leon Black of raping a woman in the home of the late Jeffrey Epstein 20 years ago, while two others filed by Epstein accusers say Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. enabled sex trafficking operations. Black's legal team has denied the allegations. Deutsche Bank said the claims against it lack merit, while JPMorgan Chase declined to comment.
Writer E. Jean Carroll filed a lawsuit accusing former President Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied the allegations.