Leah McSweeney Lawsuit Against Andy Cohen and Bravo Dismissed, What Happened and What the Court Decided

Former Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney has ended her federal lawsuit against Andy Cohen, Bravo and the companies behind the show. On Friday, October 30, 2026, she voluntarily dismissed her claims with prejudice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and all parties agreed to the dismissal, according to court filings reported by PEOPLE. The terms were not disclosed.

The case was filed in February 2024 and ran for more than two and a half years. It never reached a jury. Everything McSweeney claimed in the complaint remains an allegation, and Cohen and Bravo have denied it.

Leah McSweeney v. Cohen: Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Case name	McSweeney v. Cohen et al.
Court	U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Case number	1:24-cv-01503-LJL
Judge	Lewis J. Liman
Filed	February 27, 2024
Plaintiff	Leah McSweeney
Plaintiff’s attorney	Gary Adelman, Adelman Matz
Main defendants	Andy Cohen, Bravo Media LLC, NBCUniversal Media LLC, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., Shed Media, and producers Lisa Shannon, John Paparazzo and Darren Ward
Core allegations	Disability discrimination, hostile work environment, failure to accommodate and retaliation tied to alcohol use disorder
Outcome	Voluntary dismissal with prejudice, October 30, 2026
Settlement amount	Not disclosed
Trial held	No

What the October 30, 2026 dismissal with prejudice means

A dismissal with prejudice is final. McSweeney cannot bring the same claims against the same defendants again. In federal court, a plaintiff can end a case by filing a notice or a stipulation of dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A), and when the parties all sign, it is a stipulation under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The reports describe an agreed dismissal, but the final filing itself has not been published in full, so we can’t say which subsection was used.

Two points readers often get wrong:

• It is not a ruling on who was right. No judge or jury decided whether McSweeney’s allegations were true. A dismissal with prejudice only closes the door on refiling.
• It does not by itself show that money was paid. Page Six reported, citing its own understanding, that Bravo and Cohen settled out of court, and Deadline described the settlement as confidential. The court filings reviewed by PEOPLE say only that all parties agreed to the dismissal and that terms were not disclosed. No amount has been confirmed anywhere.

McSweeney’s attorney, Gary Adelman, told Page Six: “We are extremely satisfied with the outcome [and] we are proud of Leah and her perseverance.” Bravo did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment, and neither side has publicly claimed an admission of wrongdoing.

What Leah McSweeney alleged against Andy Cohen and Bravo

McSweeney appeared on two seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City and later on the Peacock spinoff Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. Her complaint named Cohen, Bravo Media, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, Shed Media and several producers.

According to the complaint, as reported:

• McSweeney told producers she had alcohol use disorder, and they allegedly planned scenarios that would worsen it to “create morbidly salacious reality television.”
• Producers allegedly pressured her to drink, refused reasonable accommodations such as access to AA meetings, and retaliated when she tried to stay sober.
• The complaint accused Cohen of using cocaine with certain cast members and giving them more favorable treatment and edits. It also accused him of publicly mocking her sobriety.
• In 2025 filings, she claimed Cohen induced other Bravo cast members to call her a liar in the press.

Cohen has consistently denied the allegations, and his representative has said the claims against him are completely false. In March 2024 his attorney demanded a retraction and apology, calling the allegations categorically false. Bravo said an outside investigation found the claims against Cohen unsubstantiated. Page Six noted that statements made in court filings are generally shielded from defamation claims, and that Cohen has not sued McSweeney.

Which laws McSweeney sued under

The complaint was long, with 33 counts, but most of them rest on a handful of statutes.

• Americans with Disabilities Act, Title I (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.). Bars employers from discriminating against a qualified person because of a disability (§ 12112(a)), requires reasonable accommodations unless they cause undue hardship (§ 12112(b)(5)(A)), and prohibits retaliation for opposing unlawful practices (§ 12203). Alcohol use disorder can qualify as a disability, but § 12114(c)(4) lets an employer hold an employee with alcoholism to the same performance and conduct standards as everyone else. Alcohol use disorder was the disability at the center of this case, so whether it qualified was central to proving the claims.
• New York State Human Rights Law (N.Y. Exec. Law § 296). Covers disability discrimination, hostile work environment and reasonable accommodation under state law.
• New York City Human Rights Law (N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107). Applies a notably more generous standard than federal law. Under it, a plaintiff generally needs to show only that she was treated less well because of a protected characteristic.
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2). Used for the gender-based claims, which the court dismissed.

What Judge Liman decided on March 31, 2025

In a roughly 100-page opinion, Judge Liman ruled on the defendants’ motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). He dismissed more than half of the 33 counts, and several of the dismissals turned on the First Amendment.

Here is what the ruling did:

• First Amendment limits. Judge Liman largely agreed that Bravo and its producers have the right to make a reality show built around drinking and to decide that their vision requires showing actual alcohol consumption. That cut off many claims aimed at the show’s content.
• Three claims survived. Courthouse News Service reported that the surviving counts were disability discrimination, hostile work environment and failure to provide a reasonable accommodation, and that they ran only against the corporate defendants. The accommodation claim centered on the network’s alleged failure to help her attend AA meetings during filming of Ultimate Girls Trip in Thailand.
• Other claims failed. The judge dismissed a religious discrimination claim built on a single lunch in Thailand, and the gender-based hostile work environment claims failed under Title VII and the New York statutes. A retaliation claim tied to a March letter was dismissed without prejudice, meaning she had a chance to replead it.

One caution on the count of surviving claims: some outlets, including an earlier article we reviewed, describe the survivors as including an ADA retaliation claim. Courthouse News’s report and our review of the opinion’s text support the three claims listed above, and retaliation was addressed separately in later amended pleadings. We went with the Courthouse News description.

The practical result was that Andy Cohen personally was not a defendant on the surviving counts, while Bravo and its corporate parents stayed in the case.

March 2026: why Bravo could not force the case into arbitration

In early 2026, the defendants asked the court to compel private arbitration. Judge Liman denied the request in March 2026. Newsweek reported that the case would therefore proceed in public court.

The reported reason was waiver: the defendants had actively litigated in federal court for more than a year before seeking arbitration. As general background, the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 2–4) favors enforcing arbitration agreements, but a party can lose that right by acting inconsistently with it. In Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., 596 U.S. 411 (2022), the Supreme Court held that courts may not require the other side to show prejudice before finding waiver. That is general law, not a quotation of the judge’s reasoning here.

April 2026 and after: Cohen’s motion and the final months

In April 2026, Cohen moved to have the cocaine allegations removed from the complaint. TMZ reported that his filings argued McSweeney had no real evidence for them. McSweeney had also alleged in 2025 that Cohen and Bravo coordinated a media response against her. No trial date was ever publicly reported, and the case ended with the agreed dismissal about six months later.

Timeline of McSweeney v. Cohen

Date	Event
February 27, 2024	McSweeney files suit in the Southern District of New York
March 2024	Cohen’s attorney demands a retraction and apology
May 2024	Bravo says an outside investigation found claims against Cohen unsubstantiated; defendants move to dismiss
November 2024	Oral arguments on the motion to dismiss
March 31, 2025	Judge Liman dismisses more than half of the 33 counts; three disability-related claims survive against corporate defendants
May 2025	McSweeney alleges Cohen induced cast members to publicly call her a liar
March 2026	Judge denies the defendants’ bid to compel arbitration
April 2026	Cohen seeks to remove cocaine allegations from the complaint
October 30, 2026	McSweeney voluntarily dismisses with prejudice; all parties agree

For the earlier stages of the case, see our guide Leah McSweeney Bravo Lawsuit: What’s Happened So Far.

What we don’t know about the McSweeney settlement

We are not guessing at details that have not been reported. As of October 31, 2026, the following are not public:

• Whether any money was paid, and how much
• The terms of any confidential settlement agreement
• Whether there are non-disparagement or confidentiality clauses
• Whether any party made an admission or apology (none has been reported)
• The full text of the October 30 dismissal filing, which we did not retrieve directly from the federal docket and are relying on PEOPLE’s and Page Six’s reporting of it

Can Leah McSweeney sue Andy Cohen or Bravo again?

Not over the same claims. Because the dismissal is with prejudice, claim preclusion generally bars her from relitigating the same claims against the same parties. A settlement agreement, if one exists, would typically add a release on top of that, but its terms are unknown. This is a general legal explanation, not a prediction about any future filing.

FAQ: Leah McSweeney’s lawsuit against Andy Cohen and Bravo

Did Leah McSweeney settle with Andy Cohen and Bravo?

 Page Six reported that Bravo and Cohen settled out of court, and Deadline described a confidential settlement. The court filings only show that all parties agreed to a dismissal with prejudice. The settlement itself is unconfirmed by the parties.

Did Leah McSweeney get money from Bravo?

 Unknown. No amount has been disclosed, and the dismissal filing does not state one.

Why did Leah McSweeney sue Bravo and Andy Cohen? 

She alleged that producers knew about her alcohol use disorder, pressured her to drink, denied reasonable accommodations and retaliated when she tried to stay sober.

What did McSweeney accuse Andy Cohen of doing? 

She alleged he used cocaine with certain cast members and gave them better treatment and edits, and that he mocked her sobriety. Cohen denies all of it.

Did the judge agree with McSweeney’s allegations? 

No ruling on the truth of the allegations was ever made. Judge Liman let three disability-related claims proceed against the corporate defendants, which only means they were plausible enough to survive a motion to dismiss.

Which claims survived the March 2025 ruling?

 According to Courthouse News Service, disability discrimination, hostile work environment and failure to provide a reasonable accommodation, all against the corporate defendants.

Why did Bravo lose its bid for private arbitration? 

The judge reportedly found the defendants waived arbitration by litigating in federal court for more than a year first.

Did Andy Cohen admit wrongdoing?

 No admission has been reported. Cohen and Bravo have denied the claims.

Was there a trial?

 No. The case ended before trial.

Is alcohol use disorder a disability under the ADA?

 It can be, if it substantially limits a major life activity. Even so, the ADA lets employers hold employees with alcoholism to the same conduct and performance standards as everyone else (42 U.S.C. § 12114(c)(4)).

Sources

1. McSweeney v. Cohen et al., No. 1:24-cv-01503-LJL, Opinion and Order (Doc. 93), S.D.N.Y., March 31, 2025 (Justia, Courthouse News PDF)
2. Courthouse News Service, “Judge guts ‘Real Housewife’ Leah McSweeney’s toxic workplace claims against Bravo,” March 31, 2025
3. PEOPLE, “RHONY Alum Leah McSweeney Drops Lawsuit Against Andy Cohen and Bravo After More Than 2 Years,” October 2026
4. Page Six, “Andy Cohen, Bravo settle bitter lawsuit with RHONY alum Leah McSweeney,” October 31, 2026
5. Deadline, “Andy Cohen & Bravo Settle Leah McSweeney Lawsuit,” October 31, 2026
6. Newsweek, coverage of the March 2026 arbitration ruling
7. TMZ, April 9, 2026, on Cohen’s motion regarding the cocaine allegations
8. Statutes: 42 U.S.C. §§ 12112, 12114, 12203; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2; N.Y. Exec. Law § 296; N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107; 9 U.S.C. §§ 2–4; Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), 41(a)(1)(A); Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., 596 U.S. 411 (2022)

This article summarizes publicly reported facts and court developments. The allegations in the complaint were never adjudicated at trial.

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts verified against Judge Lewis J. Liman’s March 31, 2025 opinion in McSweeney v. Cohen (S.D.N.Y. No. 1:24-cv-01503-LJL), Courthouse News Service, PEOPLE, Page Six, Newsweek and Deadline, as of October 31, 2026. Last Updated: October 31, 2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by state and individual circumstances differ. For advice about your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney.