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A woman who is suing Bill Cosby for allegedly sexually assaulting her at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 years old won a major victory in the California Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court denied Cosby's request to have Judy Huth's lawsuit reviewed and dismissed on a technicality. Cosby alleged that Huth's attorney at the time of the filing made procedural errors, and the comedian's lawyers filed a petition back in June to have her suit reviewed. Today, the justices struck down the petition, allowing the case to move forward.
"We vigorously opposed the California Supreme Court's granting of Mr. Cosby’s petition to review this case and we filed a very strong opposition to his request," said Gloria Allred, who now represents Huth, in a statement. "Today we are happy to announce that the California Supreme Court has denied Mr Cosby’s petition seeking review of Ms. Huth's case against him."
In December, Cosby filed a countersuit against Huth, claiming she's trying to extort the comedian and that her claims were "a shakedown." Because the assault allegedly occurred when Huth was underage, the normal statute of limitations does not apply in her case.
"You get a longer amount of time under a child abuse statute because when someone harms or assaults them, they're not in a good position usually to take up for themselves or even to disclose," University of Illinois law professor Robin Wilson explained to People. "Sometimes it can be so damaging that they don't even know that they've been harmed legally."
Cosby was originally scheduled to appear for a deposition on June 26, but that was delayed when he filed the petition. Allred says they now plan to have it happen within the next month. "We are looking forward to Mr. Cosby answering questions under oath at his deposition and we will continue to seek justice for our courageous client, Judy Huth," said Allred.
