Bill Cosby

LOS ANGELES — Bill Cosby has dropped a defamation lawsuit against supermodel Beverly Johnson, who accused the comedian of drugging her in the 1980s.

His attorney Monique Pressley wrote in an e-mail that Cosby made the Feb. 19 move to focus on his defense in a criminal case in Pennsylvania.

Cosby is charged there with drugging and sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has denied the allegations.

Cosby plans to re-file the case against Johnson before the statute of limitations expires, according to Pressley.