Cuomo Escapes Liability Claims for Covid-19 Nursing Home Policy

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) had qualified immunity from a lawsuit alleging a patient transfer policy he implemented as governor allegedly caused nursing home residents to die of Covid-19, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.

The family members of nursing home residents who died from Covid failed to prove that Cuomo and other former state officials knew the state’s March 2020 policy directing nursing homes to readmit residents who had been discharged from hospitals after being treated for Covid was illegal, the court said just one week after oral argument.

The families argued their relatives had a right to quality of treatment and facility conditions under the federal Nursing Home Reform Act, but “it was and is not clearly established that government officials have a legal duty to protect the rights set forth” in that law, the judges said in their unsigned opinion.

The issue has haunted Cuomo during his campaign for New York City mayor, which draws to its conclusion today.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the families’ case in January, saying Cuomo, his then-secretary Melissa DeRosa, and former state health commissioner Howard Zucker are shielded by qualified immunity, which protects government officials from monetary damages as long as their conduct doesn’t violate clearly established legal or constitutional rights.

No reasonable state official would have known they were violating patients’ rights by implementing the nursing home transfer policy in the early months of the pandemic, the Second Circuit said.

“Under the unique circumstances of this case, a reasonable official could have believed that the Directives were a legitimate exercise of government power at the time they were implemented,” the judges concluded.

The court also affirmed dismissal of the families’ claims against hospital lobby Greater New York Hospital Association and tri-state health system Northwell Health.

The panel disagreed with the families’ argument that the hospitals acted under the color of state law to violate patients’ rights when they pushed state officials to promulgate the policy.

“A private party does not act under color of state law when it asks public officials to intervene for its benefit at the expense of someone else,” the court said, and the law doesn’t impose civil liability on people who “merely stand to benefit” from a state action.

A Southern District of New York judge in March dismissed a similar case seeking to hold Cuomo and other state officials liable for nursing home deaths that occurred during the pandemic.

Senior Judge José A. Cabranes and Judges Michael H. Park and Beth Robinson sat on the panel.

Michael S. Kasanoff of Matawan, NJ represents the family plaintiffs. Glavin PLLC represents Cuomo. Gregory Morvillo of Manhattan represents DeRosa. Petrillo Klein & Boxer LLP represents Zucker. Abrams Fensterman LLP represents Northwell Health. Jenner & Block LLP represents Greater New York Hospital.

The case is Arbeeny v. Cuomo, 2d Cir., No. 24-2856, 11/4/25.