Tamara Green, Therese Serignese and Linda Traitz are suing the embattled comedian after he reportedly called them liars when they went public with their claims of sexual misconduct in the 1970s.

Last month (Apr15), a lawyer for the trio filed a motion asking for access to The Cosby Show star's confidential testimony from a 2005 legal battle with Andrea Constand, a former employee of the actor's alma mater university who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2004, as Green believed the actor may have confessed to his bad behaviour while under oath.

The legal battle with Constand was settled out of court and the records were sealed, and the funnyman's attorneys argued they should stay that way because making them available for public viewing would be improper and unnecessary.

Cosby's legal representatives have denied the defamation allegations, insisting their client was only acting in self-defence when he made the comments through his spokesmen, denying the trio's sexual assault accusations.

The argument was heard in a Worcester, Massachusetts court on Thursday (07May15), when a federal judge denied the plaintiffs' request to unseal the deposition.

Cosby's attorneys are seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed and will return to court on 9 June (15).

The plaintiffs, who are seeking unspecified damages, join over 20 other women who have also come forward with decades-old accusations of sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour against Cosby in recent months.

The actor's representatives have always maintained the star's innocence. He has never been charged with any crime relating to the claims.