Bill Cosby's lawyer says revealing court documents would cause 'embarrassment'

A lawyer for Bill Cosby argued that unsealing court documents from a 2005 Pennsylvania sexual assault case filed against the comedian would cause severe "embarrassment," court records show.

Attorney George Gowen asked in a motion filed in federal court on Wednesday to keep under seal records from the case brought by Andrea Constand, who alleged Cosby tricked her into consuming drugs before he sexually assaulted her.

Gowen wrote that Cosby had explained in a previous filing that "his embarrassment at the release of the discovery motions — deposition excerpts about sex, money, health, and marriage — would be severe."

While Constand's case was settled for an undisclosed sum years ago, the Associated Press has asked the court to release the documents. The wire service reported that Gowen brought the arguments before U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno on Friday.

Gowen argued in his brief that Cosby agreed to the settlement under terms that all discovery materials related to the case would remain confidential.

He also contended that since Cosby is not a public official, and the information would not benefit public health or safety there was "no public interest" in releasing the documents.

More than 40 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault dating back to the 1960s.

Cosby, best known for his role as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the hit TV series "The Cosby Show," has never been criminally charged and his camp has consistently denied such allegations.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; editing by John Stonestreet)