by Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, France24, Los Angeles
A California judge on Wednesday refused to throw out a lawsuit filed by a woman who claims comedian Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was 15.
Attorneys for the 78-year-old disgraced actor had sought to have Judy Huth's lawsuit tossed, alleging her lawyers had failed to follow proper procedure and arguing that the suit should not have included Cosby's name.
Attorney Martin Singer said that naming Cosby in the suit that was filed in December 2014 had harmed his client and encouraged other allegations by women who claim he drugged and sexually assaulted them decades ago.
However, Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan said that while the case may have been improperly filed, he did not believe it would prevent Cosby from getting a fair trial.
Huth alleges Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15 years old, and that she had suffered "psychological damage and mental anguish" as a result.
Cosby is scheduled to be deposed in the case on Friday and had requested that his testimony be sealed to the public.
But Karlan ruled on Wednesday that the deposition would be sealed for at least 60 days and set another hearing in the case for December 22.
On Tuesday, another woman filed suit against Cosby, alleging he sexually assaulted her in 2008, also at the Playboy Mansion, when she was 18.
Chloe Goins, a 25-year-old model, claims that Cosby spiked her drink during a party and that she woke up naked in a bed to find him licking her toes and masturbating.
Cosby's attorneys have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by their client who has gone from being America's preeminent father figure on "The Cosby Show" to a pariah.
Some 50 women have come forward with claims that Cosby, over a period spanning four decades, drugged them and then sexually assaulted or raped them.
