Overview
- A Santa Monica jury on Monday awarded $19.25 million in damages and then $40 million in punitive penalties, pushing the total near $60 million.
- Plaintiff Donna Motsinger, now 84, said Cosby gave her wine and a pill in 1972 and she kept blacking out before waking at home nearly undressed, which she called justice recognized after 54 years.
- Cosby did not attend the trial, denied the claims in a recorded statement, and his lawyer Jennifer Bonjean said they will appeal.
- The change in California law that eliminated a statute of limitations for civil sexual‑abuse cases let this decades‑old allegation reach a jury.
- The verdict follows Cosby’s uneven legal history, including a 2018 criminal conviction later overturned in 2021 and a 2022 civil ruling that awarded another accuser $500,000, while punitive awards like this often face further court review.