Court asked to reconsider defamation suit against Bill Cosby

BOSTON – A woman who says Bill Cosby raped her decades ago wants a federal appeals court to reconsider her defamation case against the comedian.

Kathrine McKee’s attorney is asking the full 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear her case. A three-judge panel of the court last month refused to revive her lawsuit against Cosby.

The former actress said Cosby defamed her in a letter that his lawyer sent to the New York Daily News demanding a retraction of a 2014 story about McKee’s rape allegations.

A lower court judge who dismissed her lawsuit said the letter was protected by the First Amendment.

Among other things, McKee is challenging the three-judge panel’s conclusion that she was a public figure, which makes it harder to win a defamation claim.