A Santa Monica jury has found Bill Cosby liable for sexually assaulting Donna Motsinger in 1972, awarding her $19.25 million in damages.
The verdict comes after a civil trial that revisited allegations dating back more than five decades. Motsinger, now 84, accused Cosby of drugging and raping her after inviting her to one of his comedy shows in San Carlos, California. At the time, she was working as a waitress at the Trident in Sausalito, where Cosby was a regular while recording a stand-up album nearby.
According to her complaint, Cosby offered her wine in a limousine before the show. She testified that she began feeling ill shortly after arriving at his dressing room, drifting in and out of consciousness. Her next memory, she said, was waking up at home partially unclothed.
After roughly three days of deliberation, the jury sided with Motsinger, awarding $17.5 million for past emotional distress and $1.75 million for future suffering. Jurors also determined that Cosby acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud,” opening the door for additional punitive damages, which will be decided in a separate proceeding.
Cosby, now 88, denied the allegations. His attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said an appeal is already underway, calling the claims speculative and pointing to Motsinger’s inability to recall certain details.
The lawsuit was filed in 2023 under a California law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for certain sexual assault claims, allowing older cases to move forward.
This marks another legal loss for Cosby, who has faced numerous accusations of sexual misconduct over the years. In 2022, he was found liable in a separate civil case involving Judy Huth, who accused him of assaulting her as a teenager in 1975; she was awarded $500,000.
Cosby was also convicted in 2018 in Pennsylvania for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand, though that conviction was later overturned in 2021 due to a violation of a prior prosecutorial agreement. He served nearly three years in prison before being released.
Motsinger’s case adds to the broader pattern of allegations that have reshaped Cosby’s public legacy, with multiple women over decades describing similar accounts of being drugged and assaulted.
Whether Cosby will be able to pay the full judgment remains unclear, as reports indicate he has sold off assets in recent years amid ongoing legal battles.