Federal judge dismisses nursing home COVID death case against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his handling of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

New York families with relatives who died from COVID-19 in nursing homes filed the lawsuit in early 2022, accusing Cuomo’s administration of undercounting fatalities. 

“During the last four years, the debate over COVID in nursing homes has been weaponized, distorted and contorted beyond recognition by those using this situation for their own politics,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement to Fox News. “However, anytime this gets taken out of the political arena, the truth wins. The judge today ruled to dismiss this case just as the DOJ – which launched three separate probes – and the Manhattan district attorney did previously. Once again, justice has prevailed.” 

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Cuomo was widely lauded in the early months of the pandemic, but his reputation took a hit amid revelations that his administration released an incomplete accounting of the deaths at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

He resigned from office in August 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. 

Cuomo testified before the subcommittee in June, but it was behind closed doors. Top former Cuomo administration officials also were interviewed as part of the investigation.

A separate state report commissioned by Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and released this summer, found that while the policies on how nursing homes should handle COVID-19 were “rushed and uncoordinated,” they were based on the best understanding of the science at the time.

FILE: Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is sworn in to testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Rayburn House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol on September 10, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura)

Cuomo faced a grilling from Republican lawmakers earlier this month during a congressional subcommittee hearing. 

Republicans who questioned the Democrat zeroed in on a controversial directive his administration issued in March of 2020 that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients just because they’d had COVID-19. More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks.

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Cuomo defended his actions and blamed the former Trump administration for failing to provide enough testing and personal protective equipment in the early days of the pandemic.

“These are all diversions to blame New York and other states for the culpability of the federal response, which was malpractice,” Cuomo said.

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo (C), New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio (R) and New York state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker hold a news conference on the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in New York on March 2, 2020, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

A report issued by the House committee didn’t delve into the question of whether significant numbers of people discharged from hospitals were still contagious with the virus when they were readmitted to nursing homes, or whether they then passed the virus to other patients.

Cuomo told the panel that its report provided no evidence to support the allegation that the directive helped spread the virus.

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There were about 15,000 COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents in New York, far more than the initial number disclosed. Cuomo said some figures were initially withheld out of concerns about accuracy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.