After a two-week Santa Monica trial, jurors found the 88-year-old comedian liable.
Bill Cosby was found liable Monday by a California civil jury for the 1972 drugging and sexual assault of Donna Motsinger, resulting in a $19.25 million damages award.
Following a two-week trial, the jury determined the 88-year-old comedian was responsible for the sexual battery and assault of Motsinger, who was a restaurant server in Sausalito at the time of the incident. The verdict included $17.5 million for past damages and $1.75 million for future suffering, covering emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Jennifer Bonjean, Cosby’s attorney, expressed disappointment in the decision and confirmed plans to appeal the verdict in an email statement.
Deliberations lasted just over a day before the panel reached its decision. A punitive damages phase of the trial was scheduled to begin later Monday, which could further increase the total award.
Motsinger’s 2023 lawsuit alleged that Cosby invited her to a stand-up performance in San Carlos when both were in their 30s. She testified that Cosby provided her with wine and two pills she believed were aspirin, causing her to lose consciousness while being placed into a limousine.
Evidence presented during the trial included testimony from Andrea Constand, whose 2018 criminal conviction of Cosby in Pennsylvania was overturned by that state’s Supreme Court in 2021. Cosby was released from prison after serving nearly three years of a three-to-10-year sentence due to the court vacating the conviction on procedural grounds.
Motsinger originally shared her account anonymously in a 2005 legal filing by Constand, but later chose to come forward publicly. Her claims are among those made by at least 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, all of which he has consistently denied.
This latest judgment follows a 2022 Santa Monica civil verdict in which a separate jury awarded $500,000 to a woman who testified that Cosby assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975.
