Bill Cosby Moves To Block Material Linked To 2006 Assault Lawsuit

The Cosby Show star has been accused of rape, sexual assault and general inappropriate behaviour by more than 30 women, who have come forward with decades-old claims in the past eight months.

He has not been charged over the allegations, but in 2006, he settled one lawsuit, in which Andrea Constand, a former employee of his Philadelphia, Pennsylvania alma mater Temple University, sued Cosby for drugging and sexually assaulting her at his suburban mansion.

Now, three women - Tamara Green, Therese Serignese and Linda Traitz - have hit Cosby with a lawsuit for defamation, which was filed in Massachusetts.

The trio accuse the funnyman of having his agents deny their claims that Cosby molested them in the 1970s, and they believe the documents from Constand's case can help in their favour.

Since the legal papers are confidential, the women's lawyers filed a subpoena to release the documents, but on Tuesday (02Jun15), defence lawyer George M. Gowen asked the Pennsylvania court to wait until a judge rules on Cosby's bid to throw out the Massachusetts case before allowing the subpoena request to go though.

Gowen also requested for the right to review and challenge any material slated to be unsealed.