A California civil jury ordered Bill Cosby to pay $59.25 million to Donna Motsinger after finding the 88-year-old entertainer liable for drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1972, marking the largest financial penalty the former television star has faced in similar cases.
Jury Delivers Split Verdict Over Two Phases
After nearly two weeks of testimony in Santa Monica, jurors awarded Motsinger $17.5 million in past damages and $1.75 million for future damages covering mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress. In a second phase on Monday afternoon, they added $40 million in punitive damages. Deliberations lasted approximately two days before the panel reached its verdict. Cosby’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, expressed disappointment and confirmed plans to appeal the decision.
Motsinger testified that Cosby invited her to his stand-up comedy show at a theater near San Francisco when both were in their 30s. She worked as a server at a Sausalito restaurant at the time. According to her lawsuit filed in 2023, Cosby gave her wine and two pills she believed were aspirin, causing her to lose consciousness. She woke up at home without most of her clothes, knowing she had been drugged and raped.
Defense Challenges Evidence and Credibility
Cosby’s legal team argued the allegations relied on speculation and assumption, noting Motsinger freely admitted having no clear memory of events. The case moved unusually fast through California courts, reaching a verdict just two and a half years after filing, while other lawsuits against the entertainer stalled. Cosby did not testify at the trial. Andrea Constand, the Temple University administrator whose allegations led to Cosby’s 2018 criminal conviction, appeared as a witness.
Pattern of Accusations Spans Five Decades
Motsinger first made her allegations anonymously in a 2005 lawsuit filed by Constand. Her case echoes accusations from at least 60 women who alleged rape, sexual assault, or harassment against Cosby, all of which he has denied. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court threw out his criminal conviction and freed him from prison after nearly three years of a three to ten year sentence, ruling he gave incriminating testimony under improper circumstances. In 2022, a different Santa Monica jury awarded $500,000 to a woman who said Cosby assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was a teenager.
Motsinger said the verdict represents more than personal vindication. The survivor stated she carried the weight of what happened for over 50 years, and hopes her case gives strength to others waiting for their moment to be heard. Her attorney Jesse Creed praised her extraordinary courage in coming forward and thanked the jury for careful attention to evidence.