Cosby v. American Media, Inc.

197 F. Supp. 3d 735, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92790, 2016 WL 3901012
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 15, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 16-508
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 197 F. Supp. 3d 735 (Cosby v. American Media, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cosby v. American Media, Inc., 197 F. Supp. 3d 735, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92790, 2016 WL 3901012 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge

This action arises out of a confidential settlement agreement signed more than a decade ago in a previous case before this court, Constand v. Cosby (No. 05-ev-1099). Plaintiff William Cosby brings claims of breach of contract and unjust enrichment against a number of parties to the settlement agreement, alleging that they have violated the agreement. All defendants have filed motions to dismiss. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant several of the motions as they relate to claims involving voluntary disclosures to law enforcement officers, but will deny the remainder of the motions.

I. BACKGROUND

The Complaint alleges the following facts:

In 2005, Defendant Andrea Constand sued Plaintiff William H. Cosby, Jr., claiming that he drugged and sexually assaulted her at his Montgomery County home. In 2006, Constand also sued the National Enquirer for defamation over articles the publication had printed about Constand's allegations against Cosby.

Near the end of 2006, the parties settled both cases, pursuant to a Confidential Settlement Agreement (“CSA”)1 signed by Cosby; Andrea Constand; Gianna Con-stand; 2 American Media, Inc.;3 Bebe Kiv-itz; Dolores Troiani;4 and several other individuals who are not parties to the instant case. In the CSA, the parties agreed to a full settlement and release of all claims in exchangje for financial consideration and mutual promises to keep information confidential. Those promises included agreements i“not to disclose to anyone, via written or oral communication or by disclosing a document, in private or public, any aspect of this LITIGATION,” including “the events or allegations upon which the LITIGATION was based” and “allegations made about [Mr. Cosby] or [738]*738[Andrea Constand] by other persons.” Compl. ¶ 24.,

Nearly a decade later, allegations against Cosby began to attract widespread national attention. As a result, according to Cosby, a number of the parties to the CSA took the following actions:

• In early 2014, Andrea Constand said on Twitter, “I won’t go away, there is a lot more I will say,” and, “It’s not that everybody just forgot about it, truth is nobody cared.” Id. ¶¶ 81-82.
• On December 1, 2014, the National Enquirer published an article entitled “Meet the Cosby Accusers!” The article discussed allegations against Cosby, including Constand’s allegations. Id. ¶ 35.
• In July 2015, after the Montgomery County District Attorney reopened a criminal investigation against Cosby as to the events underlying Constand v. Cosby, Troiani provided the District Attorney with her files from Constand v. Cosby. She also informed the District Attorney of the CSA’s contents. Id. ¶¶ 42, 44.
• Kivitz, Andrea Constand, and Gianna Constand also voluntarily disclosed information to the criminal investigators. Id. ¶¶ 47, 68, 74.
• In July 2015, after the Court unsealed some documents in Constand v. Cosby, court reporting service Kaplan Leaman & Wolfe (“KLW”) released the full transcript of Cosby’s 2005 deposition in that case to several entities, including news organizations. According to the Complaint, this occurred because Troiani and Kivitz either instructed KLW to release the transcript, or failed to use their best efforts to ensure that KLW complied with confidentiality provisions. Id. ¶¶ 51-55.
• In July 2015, Andrea Constand gave an interview to the Toronto Sun, during which she made statements about her allegations against and settlement agreement with Cosby. Id. ¶ 83.
• On July 22, 2015, the National Enquirer published an article entitled “99 Victims in 43 Years for Bill Cosby!” The article described allegations of sexual assault asserted against Cosby. It also described Cosby’s 2005 deposition and noted that Constand v. Cosby had settled. Id. ¶ 33.
• On August 12, 2015, the National Enquirer published an article entitled “Bill Cosby’s Sickening Attacks Behind the Scenes of ‘The Cosby Show.’ ” The article discussed Cosby’s 2005 deposition and other allegations against Cosby. I& ¶ 34.
• On October 26, 2015, Constand sued former District Attorney Bruce Castor for defamation over statements he has made concerning the events underlying Constand v. Cosby. Kivitz and Troiani represent Constand in that suit (Constand v. Castor, No. 15-cv-5799). Id. ¶¶ 60-61.
• In October 2015, Kivitz and Troiani drafted and sent an “open letter to Bruce Castor” to the Philadelphia Inquirer. In the letter, Kivitz and Troia-ni discussed details of Constand v. Cosby. Id. ¶ 62.
• On January 4, 2016, the National Enquirer published an article entitled “Saved by the Bell Star Accuses Bill Cosby, Martin Lawrence, and John Travolta of Abuse.” The article included descriptions of Cosby’s 2005 deposition testimony. Id. If 32.
• On January 6, 2016, the National Enquirer published an article entitled “World Exclusive: Bill Cosby Will Die in Jail.” The article described the contents of Cosby’s deposition and purported to include an interview with Andrea Constand. Id. ¶ 31.

[739]*739Cosby alleges that all of these actions violated the CSA.

Cosby filed his Complaint on February I, 2016, naming American Media, Troiani, Kivitz, Andrea Constand, and Gianna Con-stand as defendants. ECF No. 1. The Complaint contains six counts: one count of breach of contract against each defendant, and one count of unjust enrichment against Andrea Constand. Originally, portions of the Complaint were filed under seal, but the seal has since been lifted. ECF No. 34.5 All defendants have filed motions to dismiss,6 ECF Nos. 32, 36, 40, which are now ripe for disposition.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A party may move to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When considering such a motion, the Court must “accept as true all allegations in the complaint and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom, and view them in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.” De-Benedictis v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 492 F.3d 209, 215 (3d Cir.2007) (internal quotation marks omitted). To withstand a motion to dismiss, the complaint’s “[flactual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). This “requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Id. Although a plaintiff is entitled to all reasonable inferences from the facts alleged, a plaintiffs legal conclusions are not entitled to deference and the Court is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Papasan v.

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Bluebook (online)
197 F. Supp. 3d 735, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92790, 2016 WL 3901012, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cosby-v-american-media-inc-paed-2016.