A federal judge has pared back a lawsuit in which Bill Cosby claims a woman accusing him of sexual assault, her mother, two lawyers and the publisher of the National Enquirer violated a confidential settlement agreement.
U.S. Judge Eduardo Robreno ruled Friday that the accuser and others could not be sued for talking to law enforcement about her allegations.
The judge said, however, that other aspects of the lawsuit can proceed.
The comedian sued in February, claiming that all five parties breached a 2006 secrecy deal they had all signed and that the woman’s actions have unjustly enriched her.
The confidential settlement agreement is “unenforceable as against public policy” if it prevents those who signed it from voluntarily talking to law enforcement about possible crimes, Robreno wrote.