Bill Cosby‘s wife would prefer not to be questioned about her husband’s alleged misdeeds. Or at least the attorneys for her husband would prefer her not to be.
Lawyers for the scandal-plagued comedian filed papers in federal court in Massachusetts on Friday to quash a subpoena for Camila Cosby’s deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by seven of Cosby’s accusers.
Mrs. Cosby (pictured above with Bill Cosby), who has been married to the comedian since 1964, “has no first-hand, non-repetitive knowledge of the issues that are the subject of discovery,” the papers contend.
Cosby’s lawyers also argue that information conveyed in confidential conversations between her and her husband would be protected by Massachusetts’ spousal disqualification rule.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys had argued that Camille Cosby should be deposed because she is Cosby’s business manager, and had published a statement in her husband’s defense. But the papers likewise argue that those two factors wouldn’t grant her access to any information pertinent to the case.
In the case, Cosby is being sued by Tamara Green, Therese Serignese and five other women who have accused the comedian of sexual assault. They claim that they were defamed by public statements made on Cosby’s behalf denying their allegations.
Cosby has since filed his own defamation counterclaim against the accusers.
In a statement to TheWrap, plaintiff lawyer Joseph Cammarata called the new filing “self-serving.”
“The bottom line is Mrs. Cosby has information relevant to the litigation of this case even more so after the filing of Mr. Cosby’s counterclaim,” Cammarata said.
In the past year, Cosby has been accused of sexual assault or rape by dozens of women, many of whom claim that he drugged them beforehand. In the wake of the accusations, Cosby has suffered several career setbacks, and faces multiple lawsuits.
Cosby’s former attorney, Martin Singer, has denied the allegations in the past.