One of the women suing comedian Bill Cosby for defamation has dropped her lawsuit against him. At U.S. District Court in Springfield on Friday, attorneys for Kristina Ruehli filed a voluntary motion to dismiss the case without prejudice.
Cosby’s lawyers had tried to get the case dismissed themselves on Thursday, but the judge rejected their motion.
Ruehli, who is now 72 years old and lives in New Hampshire, claims that Cosby assaulted her in 1965 in Los Angeles. Like eight other women who are suing Cosby in Massachusetts, she claims that she was publicly portrayed as a liar by Cosby and his representatives.
“I feel like I have a great big scarlet ‘L’ painted on me,” Ruehli told the Associated Press, “how do you get that off?”
Ruehli’s attorney, Megan Deluhery, released the following statement to 22News explaining her client’s decision:
“After considerable reflection, Ms. Ruehli has decided not to pursue her case and voluntarily dismissed it, without prejudice, today. Since she filed her lawsuit, the landscape has changed considerably. Mr. Cosby is facing criminal prosecution in Pennsylvania where he will have to defend against allegations that he not only acted reprehensibly but illegally.
Ms. Ruehli is 72 and her husband just celebrated his 79th birthday. Having demonstrated her entitlement to go forward, and satisfied with the under oath testimony of a friend who confirms she did not invent this story but told him about her encounter with Mr. Cosby shortly afterwards, she will watch the pending cases proceed in solidarity with other survivors, those known and unknown, while returning her focus, if she can, on her daily life and trying to put behind her all the pain this ordeal has caused her.”
A spokesperson for the comedian told the AP that he hopes more lawsuits are dropped or dismissed, and that Cosby looks forward to fighting the rest in court.
Source: WWLP.com
