Bill Cosby and the Full and Final Release
“I was confident that I had made her a millionaire.” Those are the words of the original Bill Cosby prosecutor in reference to the 2005 civil suit.
A few days ago I wrote about Bill Cosby and our difficulty in separating fact from fiction. You can find the post here.
Today, I would like to talk about a full and final release in the context of Bill Cosby’s 2005 civil law suit.
It’s likely that when Mr. Cosby was sued by the complainant they would have executed a full and final release. This is an agreement between the parties based on mutual negotiated terms to settle the lawsuit.
Lawyers representing
In this situation parties such as the plaintiff and defendant are represented by their lawyers and they are advised as to the terms of settlement. A good lawyer will provide his or her opinion and ensure that neither party is under any duress or undue influence.
The point being, that the complainant in Mr. Cosby’s case would have signed some type of final release. Common conditions in a release include, ending the lawsuit for compensation and keeping the contents of the settlement private. Lawyers have the option of inserting anything as long as the parties agree.
Another common provision is that neither the plaintiff nor any affiliates would be entitled to start a lawsuit against that same defendant for that particular matter.
Today, many lawyers will include provisions about not discussing the lawsuit or anything related to it in public or social media.
Given, Mr. Cosby’s popularity it’s likely that the complainant would have agreed to similar terms. It’s also the reason she has remained silent despite being hounded by the media. I recall a statement from the complainants’ lawyer referencing privacy issues based on the civil settlement.
Although, court documents are public documents transcripts from depositions are not. It’s almost implicit when settling a lawsuit to ensure that everything is sealed to some extent. It’s also very very likely that Mr. Cosby’s lawyers back in 2005 would have not wanted the transcript to go public. The complainant accepted compensation for agreeing to the terms.
Today, it is that transcript that is now being used to prosecute Mr. Cosby.
Will the complainant have to testify? If she does, is she then in violation of the settlement? If so, will she have to pay the settlement back?
Moreover, if the parties pursuant to contract law with legal representation entered into this settlement. It seems highly unfair for a judge to intervene in any such agreement by releasing the transcript.
As a rule of thumb it’s probably wise that today’s lawyer starts to incorporate more stringent conditions into their full and final release when settling lawsuits.
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