WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court decided on Monday not to reinstate a wrongful death lawsuit against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, which had been previously dismissed by lower courts. The lawsuit was related to Cuomo’s controversial COVID-19 nursing home policy.
In its list of orders released Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal filed by Daniel Arbeeny from Brooklyn. Arbeeny claimed that Cuomo’s nursing home policy was responsible for his father’s death in 2020.
“The Supreme Court’s decision doesn’t change the reality of what happened,” Arbeeny expressed to The Post, voicing his disappointment. “Nine thousand COVID-positive patients were placed in nursing homes, leading to tragic outcomes.”
Arbeeny accused the Cuomo administration of concealing the true death toll, stating, “The facts remain the same. The death toll is horrifying. It didn’t have to happen. The truth will emerge eventually.”
With Monday’s announcement, Arbeeny has no further avenues for appeal. The Supreme Court did not provide a rationale for its decision, which is customary in such cases.
“For six long years, families have endured the unimaginable loss of loved ones to COVID. It doesn’t become easier, especially when that pain is exploited for political purposes,” remarked Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi to The Post.
“Every investigation and every court to examine these claims has reached the same conclusion: there was no wrongdoing by Governor Cuomo or his administration,” he added. “Today, the Supreme Court joins that list.”
“The facts are settled and the highest court has spoken.”
The case had been dismissed by Eastern District of New York Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall in 2024, in a move that was later upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Both of the lower courts had determined that Cuomo, 68, was protected by qualified immunity, which gives government officials liability protections if they didn’t flout clear legal or constitutional principles.
Back in March 2020, Arbeeny’s father, Norman, an 89-year-old Korean War veteran, was in a nursing home. On March 25 of that year, Cuomo signed a directive ordering nursing homes to take patients who tested positive for the COVID-19 respiratory illness.
Cuomo’s team argued the move was needed to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by the pandemic and keep emergency facilities open for those who were seriously ill.
Ultimately, some 15,000 seniors died from COVID-19 in Empire State nursing homes.
Cuomo also faced controversy over his administration’s undercounting of nursing home-related COVID-19 deaths. A congressional report alleged that Cuomo was involved with lowballing the death count.
Daniel Arbeeny had filed a suit against Cuomo and members of his former administration in 2022. He was joined by other families in the suit.
Cuomo ultimately resigned from office before his term concluded in 2021, following a stunning New York Attorney General report alleging that he sexually harassed almost a dozen women during his time as governor.
The Cuomo scion then mounted a political comeback bid last year, seeking to become mayor of New York City, before losing both the Democratic primary and general election to Zohran Mamdani.
