Bill Cosby got some good news and some bad news from a judge on Friday.
The scandal-plagued comedian can go ahead and sue his accuser, Andrea Constand, for breach of contract, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ruled in federal court in Pennsylvania — but not before Robreno partially dismissed portions of Cosby’s claims against Constand.
Cosby is suing former Temple University employee Constand — who claims that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his Pennsylvania home — for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, claiming that she violated a confidentiality agreement stemming from a settlement of Constand’s lawsuit against Cosby.
In his ruling Friday, Robreno found that Constand didn’t violate the agreement when she provided information to law enforcement officials.
However, the judge declined to dismiss Cosby’s claims that Constand violated the agreement in other ways.
Specifically, Cosby claims that Constand breached the agreement by tweeting in 2014, “I won’t go away, there is a lot more I will say” and “It’s not that everybody just forgot about it, truth is nobody cared.” Constand contended that the tweets did not mention Cosby or the litigation by name, but Robreno found, “This argument is unavailing because, of course, a statement can be a reference to an individual or situation even if it does not explicitly say so.”
Constand also sought to have Cosby’s breach of contract claim against her over a Toronto Sun interview she did dismissed. The judge shot down that request, as well as Constand’s attempt to have the unjust enrichment claim dismissed.
Cosby was charged with aggravated indecent assault over the Constand case in December, after incoming Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, district attorney Kevin Steele decided to pursue a criminal case against the comedian. Constand filed her lawsuit in 2005 after former district attorney Bruce Castor declined to press charges.
Cosby has been accused of rape or sexual assault by dozens of women, many of whom claim he drugged them beforehand. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the comedian. Cosby has denied the allegations, and in some cases sued his accusers for defamation.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.