A Los Angeles judge on May 29, 2026, upheld a $59.25 million sexual assault verdict against Bill Cosby, rejecting the comedian’s arguments that the damages were excessive and that he had been denied a fair trial.
Judge Bradley Phillips found no basis for the 88-year-old entertainer’s request for a new trial following a March 2026 jury verdict in favor of Donna Motsinger, who accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in 1972.
“The Court finds that there was sufficient evidence … to support the jury’s finding that defendant’s conduct caused plaintiff’s damages,” Phillips wrote in the ruling issued Friday.
Judge Rejects Claims of Excessive Damages
In early April 2026, Cosby’s legal team had filed a motion seeking a new trial, contending the punitive portion of the award alone — representing roughly one third of his net worth — was presumptively excessive. His attorneys argued the massive awards served no deterrent purpose for an 88-year-old man with no sight who lives an isolated life, asserting that his last known sexual misconduct occurred 20 years ago.
Phillips rejected those arguments, ruling that Cosby had failed to demonstrate any irregularity in the proceedings that would have deprived him of a fair trial. The judge also determined that the damages awarded to Motsinger were not excessive, dismantling the core arguments in Cosby’s post-trial motion.
The defense had further claimed the jury acted out of passion and prejudice, punishing the defendant to take a stand against all would-be abusers in positions of power and celebrity. Phillips found no merit to that contention, writing in his order that Cosby has not shown that there was any irregularity in the proceedings or any order or abuse of discretion by the court that prevented him from having a fair trial; that either the compensatory or punitive damages are excessive; that the evidence was insufficient to justify the verdict or that the verdict is against law; or that there was any error in law.
Decades-Old Allegations Came to Court Under California Law
Motsinger, now 84, brought her lawsuit in September 2023 under a California statute that permits survivors of historical sexual assault to pursue civil claims against their alleged abusers decades after incidents occurred. Her complaint described events from 1972, when she worked as a server at a Sausalito, California, restaurant where Cosby was a regular patron.
According to the suit, Cosby picked her up at her home and escorted her to one of his Bay Area shows, giving her wine and a pill she believed was aspirin on the way to the venue. “Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness while two men attending to Mr. Cosby were putting her in the limousine,” the complaint alleged. Motsinger said she later awoke at her home wearing only her underwear.
In March, a civil jury sided with her, rejecting Cosby’s defense that he had been the target of mass vigilantism. Jurors awarded $17.5 million in past non-economic damages, $1.75 million in future non-economic damages and $40 million in punitive damages, finding that Cosby had acted with “malice, oppression, or fraud.” The total: $59.25 million.
More Than 60 Women Have Accused Cosby
The Motsinger case represents the latest courtroom setback for an entertainer once known as “America’s Dad.” More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, with a 2015 New York magazine exposé documenting dozens of allegations after one accuser successfully sued him in 2014.
Cosby became the first Hollywood figure convicted in the wake of the #MeToo movement, found guilty in 2018 of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He served almost three years in a state prison outside of Philadelphia on a three- to 10-year sentence before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out his conviction in 2021.
In 2022, a Los Angeles jury awarded Judy Huth $500,000 after she alleged Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975, when she was 16 years old.
Defense Plans Appeal
Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt signaled the legal team intends to press on, echoing language he has used after previous setbacks and framing the ruling as politically motivated. The defense has consistently maintained Cosby’s innocence and has said he stands behind it.
For Motsinger, Friday’s order brings the prospect of collection one step closer, though appeals could stretch the fight for years. The denial of a new trial clears a key procedural hurdle, allowing the judgment to stand as Cosby’s lawyers prepare their next move in a case that has tested the reach of laws designed to give historical assault victims their day in court.
