Defamation suit against Cosby dismissed in Mass.; entertainer still facing trial in Pa.
Comedian Bill Cosby performs during a show at the Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Fla., Friday, Nov. 21, 2014. Performances by Cosby in Nevada, Illinois, Arizona, South Carolina and Washington state have been canceled as more women come forward accusing the entertainer of sexually assaulting them years ago. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo)
A federal judge in Massachusetts has dismissed a civil defamation lawsuit against comedian Bill Cosby.
Judge Mark Mastroianni ruled Thursday that Katherine McKee had not adequately shown Cosby defamed her when his representatives called a 2014 New York Daily News story on her allegations defamatory and demanded a retraction.
The former actress alleged the 79-year-old Cosby raped her in a Detroit hotel room in 1974.
McKee was among dozens of women to come forward in recent years and among at least eight suing for defamation in Massachusetts, where Cosby owns a home.
Cosby’s lawyers called Thursday’s decision the “correct outcome.” McKee’s attorneys didn’t immediately comment.
“The Cosby Show” star still faces criminal charges in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He’s pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee at his Cheltenham home.
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