Let’s call it a draw with the latest chapter of Bill Cosby‘s ongoing legal saga.
The scandal-plagued comedian, who’s been accused of rape or sexual assault by dozens of women in the past year, has lost a bid to dismiss or stay his insurance company’s lawsuit relating to a defamation lawsuit against Cosby.
On the other hand, the insurance company, AIG Property Casualty Company, was also shot down in its effort to stay the defamation suit until its own complaint is resolved, meaning both actions will proceed simultaneously.
In an order issued Tuesday, U.S. district judge Mark G. Mastroianni shot down both Cosby and his insurance company.
Cosby is being sued for defamation by a number of his accusers, including Tamara Green, Therese Serignese and Linda Traitz in federal court in Massachusetts. They allege that they were defamed by comments made on behalf of Cosby after they accused him of sexual misconduct.
AIG filed suit in June, contending that that it’s not financially responsible for any sexual misconduct that Cosby may have committed.
According to court papers, Cosby’s policies with AIG covered personal injury, including defamation, libel and slander, but not claims that arise “out of any actual, alleged or threatened … sexual molestation, misconduct or harassment.”
AIG asked the court to stay the defamation case against Cosby until its own suit was resolved. Cosby, meanwhile, asked for AIG’s suit to be dismissed, or stayed until the underlying litigation has been resolved.
On Monday, Cosby countersued his accusers in the case, claiming that he had been defamed by their accusations.
Cosby has been plagued by scandal since late last year, with woman after woman coming forward to claim that he sexually assaulted them. A
Cosby’s former attorney, Martin Singer, has publicly denied sexual assault claims leveled at his client.
Since the scandal erupted, Cosby has suffered several career setbacks, including NBC shelving a sitcom that it was developing as a starring vehicle for the 77-year-old. Netflix likewise postponed a comedy special starring the comedian that was slated to run late last year.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.