Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is being sued by one of the 11 women whose accusations of sexual harassment against him were corroborated by the state attorney general's report that preceded Cuomo's resignation. Brittany Commisso filed a summons late Wednesday in New York's state supreme court, the Times-Union reports. The former Cuomo aide is suing under the state's Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window during which lawsuits for sexual harassment or assault could be filed even if the statute of limitations had run out, CBS News reports. That window closed Friday.
Commisso came forward in 2021 to identify herself as the woman formerly known only as "Executive Assistant #1." She said that while she was working for Cuomo in 2019, the then-governor groped her multiple times, including grabbing her breast under her shirt. A criminal investigation was opened into her allegations, but the case was ultimately dismissed. Also named in her lawsuit against Cuomo is his former chief counsel and the state of New York. A lawyer for Cuomo calls her lawsuit a "cash grab" and denies the allegations, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Commisso says she was harmed by the former governor's "pervasive abusive conduct" and that after reporting the alleged abuse, she experienced retaliation. In allegations being made public for the first time, she says it was current Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was then lieutenant governor, whose office demoted Commisso and assigned her "demeaning" tasks after she came forward with her allegations. "The claim regarding then-Lt. Gov. Hochul is clearly a mistake, as she had no control over Executive Chamber personnel decisions," says a spokesperson for the now-governor. (More Andrew Cuomo stories.)
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