Chris Cuomo Demands Court Remove ‘Biased’ Lawyer in CNN Case

Chris Cuomo won a new battle in his fight with CNN on Thursday, as a judge agreed to temporarily halt arbitration proceedings after Cuomo claimed the arbitrator tasked with settling his beef with the network is biased against him.

New York Supreme Court Justice Andrea Masley ruled that Cuomo’s arbitration would be stayed until at least July 6 so that the mediation firm JAMS can argue why its arbitrator, Stephen P. Sonnenberg, should remain on the case. Cuomo had asked the New York Supreme Court on Thursday to remove Sonnenberg from the former CNN star’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the network, arguing Sonnenberg lied when asked if he had any prior attorney-client relationship with those involved in the case.

In his petition, Cuomo alleged he initially had no reason to question Sonnenberg’s impartiality following his appointment in April 2022. But just before a Monday hearing, “following a series of actions by him that indicated a clear bias in favor of CNN,” Cuomo said his attorneys did a deep-dive into Sonnenberg’s background and were “shocked to learn that contrary to his representation in his Disclosure, Sonnenberg did, in fact, have a prior attorney-client relationship with one of the parties, namely CNN.”

Cuomo claimed he requested that JAMS remove Sonnenberg before an arbitration session on Friday, but the firm rejected his motion. He then asked the court to temporarily halt the arbitration and disqualify Sonnenberg from the case.

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The NewsNation host did not give a specific example of any biased actions from Sonnenberg or cited a case in which the arbitrator previously represented CNN.

The network considers Cuomo’s claims to be meritless, according to a person familiar with the situation. JAMS initially declined to comment, citing the ongoing case.

The “bias” dust-up is the latest salvo in the ongoing feud between Cuomo and his former employer. Cuomo sued CNN in March last year, claiming its firing of him over the aid he provided his brother—embattled former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—amounted to wrongful termination and cost him any similar jobs in the future. He sought $125 million in damages for his claims.

Cuomo did eventually land on his feet, however, starting a podcast called The Chris Cuomo Podcast last summer (succeeding his CNN podcast with friend-turned-foe Don Lemon) and then launching a primetime show, Cuomo, on the fledgling cable network NewsNation.

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