Judge Dismisses Castor's Suit Against Cosby Accuser Constand
Bruce Castor Jr. had alleged that Andrea Constand sued him in 2015 in order to destroy his political career.
April 05, 2018 at 02:33 PM
3 minute read
Bruce Castor. AP photo by Marc Levy
Former prosecutor Bruce Castor Jr.'s lawsuit against one of Bill Cosby's accusers has been dismissed in Philadelphia court.
In two orders signed Tuesday, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ann Butchart sustained preliminary objections brought by Andrea Constand and by her lawyers, Bebe Kivitz and Dolores Troiani. All three were defendants to Castor's lawsuit, in which he alleged that Constand sued him in 2015 in order to destroy his political career.
Butchart dismissed Castor's claims with prejudice.
In her own suit, ongoing in federal court, Constand alleged that Castor defamed her when he publicly discussed why he chose not to prosecute Cosby in 2005, based on Constand's allegation that Cosby had sexually assaulted her. The defamation suit was filed in 2015, when Castor was preparing to run for district attorney of Montgomery County, a race he ultimately lost. Castor was that county's DA from 2000 to 2008.
Castor alleged that Constand and her lawyers “made it their mission to destroy Castor's desire and campaign for Montgomery County district attorney,” and did so through an abuse of legal process.
In her preliminary objections, Constand argued that the claims in Castor's second amended complaint were legally insufficient and littered with “scandalous and impertinent matters in almost every single paragraph.”
Constand argued that Castor brought, at best, a wrongful use of civil proceedings claim. She said he was “trying to pass off his legally insufficient Dragonetti claim as a claim for abuse of process.”
Troiani and Kivitz argued in their preliminary objections that Castor's second amended complaint “does not resolve the deficiencies of his claims.”
“Castor is still pursuing recovery for a lawsuit he has not won,” Troiani and Kivitz's objections said.
Jim Beasley of The Beasley Firm is representing Castor, and said he plans to appeal Butchart's orders. He also said he expects Constand's defamation suit to be dismissed in Castor's favor, and that he will file a Dragonetti claim after that happens.
“I think the judge is great, but she's missed a couple things,” Beasley said. “If they want to do this after [the defamation case is] dismissed in Bruce's favor, that's coming too. It almost doesn't matter in the end.”
Victoria Komarnicki, who represented Constand against Castor's claims, said, “We are very pleased that the judge made the correct decision.”
Jeffrey McCarron, who is representing Troiani and Kivitz, declined to comment on the orders, other than to say that he predicted the outcome.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllPhila. Med Mal Lawyers In for Busy Year as Court Adjusts for Filing Boom
3 minute read'Recover, Reflect, Retool and Retry': Lessons From Women Atop Pa. Legal Community
3 minute readEDPA's New Chief Judge Plans to Advance Efforts to Combat Threats to Judiciary
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Nevada Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Groundbreaking Contingency Cap Ballot Measure
- 2OpenAI Tells Court It Will Seek to Consolidate Copyright Suits Under MDL
- 34th Circuit Allows State Felon Voting Ban Challenge to Go Forward
- 4Class Actions Claim Progressive Undervalues Totaled Cars
- 5How the Trump II Administration Can Combat Antisemitism
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250