California Jury Awards Donna Motsinger $59.25 million for 1972 Drugging and Rape by Bill Cosby

A California jury has found entertainer Bill Cosby liable for drugging and sexually assaulting Donna Motsinger in 1972 and awarded her a total of $59.25 million in damages, $40 millon of which is punitive, said Motsinger’s attorney Jesse Creed.

It is an astonishing amount. In June 2022, a jury in that same courthouse in Santa Monica, Calif. awarded Cosby survivor Judy Huth $500,000 with no punitive damages.

The jury began deliberating late Thursday afternoon and reached its verdict earlier today. They first awarded her $19.25 million in compensatory damages, then, later in the day, awarded her another $40 million in punitive damages.

Donna Motsinger around 1972. Courtesy: Motsinger v. Cosby.

Motsinger, 84, said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1972 after inviting her to one of his shows. Nearly 30 women have filed similar lawsuits against Cosby, and most of the active ones have survived motions to dismiss.

Cosby’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, told The New York Times she intends to appeal. Motsinger told reporters the damages were the “icing on the cake,” according to the Times. “It has been 54 years to get justice, and I know it’s not complete for the rest of the women, but I hope it helps them a little bit.” She also said it was important to her “that I’m believed and he in some way has to be accountable for what he did to me,” according to the Times.

I wrote in more detail about her case last month.

Nicki Weisensee Egan is the author of the book CHASING COSBY, host and executive producer of the podcast based on the book, coauthor of VICTIM F, and an investigative journalist. You can see more of her work, including her more than 20 years of Cosby coverage, at https://www.nicoleweisenseeegan.com/