Chris Cuomo can’t revive his bid to disqualify the arbitrator overseeing his $125 million declare in opposition to NCS, a New York appeals courtroom has dominated.
The courtroom discovered that Cuomo “did not set forth facts to indicate that the arbitrator was biased in his handling of the arbitration.” He had initiated the proceedings after he was fired by NCS in 2021 after a deposition revealed he gave recommendation to his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was accused of sexual harassment.
The demand for arbitration alleged a marketing campaign to smear the previous anchor. It claimed that Cuomo was prematurely fired in an “apparent rush to judgment and caving to uninformed public and internal pressure that was based on speculation.”
Cuomo’s attorneys had moved to take away JAMS arbitrator Stephen Sonnenberg as a result of he failed to disclose 4 NCS-related issues that his former regulation agency dealt with when he labored at Paul Hastings. He was additionally personally concerned in a 2003 case involving the community, although he stated he had no recollection of the matter.
In the order, issued on Tuesday, the courtroom confused that Cuomo’s attorneys had no challenge with the 39 orders issued to this point in the arbitration. “Nor did counsel claim there was any misconduct on the part of the arbitrator, and was willing to proceed with the arbitration, but only if a new arbitrator was selected by the parties,” the ruling said. “However, an arbitrator may not be disqualified solely because of his relationship to a party, but rather, upon facts demonstrating partiality to a litigant.”
Cuomo’s bid for discovery to discover Sonnenberg’s recollection of the NCS case he was concerned in was correctly denied because it was grounded in hypothesis that he wasn’t sincere, the appeals courtroom concluded. It additionally pointed to Sonnenberg dealing with the case greater than 20 years in the past and that his agency was solely paid $3,000 in authorized charges.
Cuomo had been with NCS since 2013, first because the anchor of its morning present New Day, after which as a primetime host, the place he would usually have extra of a “take” on the day’s information. In the early weeks and months of the pandemic, he additionally hosted his older brother on his NCS program, with Zucker and Gollust’s blessing, regardless of there being a ban on such interviews since 2013. He at present hosts a present on rival cable outlet NewsNation.
With the newest attraction denied, Sonnenberg will proceed to preside over nine-figure arbitration initiated by Cuomo in opposition to his former community, proceedings that will stretch in to yr 5.