A defamation lawsuit against an attorney for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who had suggested that a former member of the state's ethics watchdog panel leaked confidential investigatory information to the press, has been dismissed by an appeals court.

The Appellate Division, Fourth Department said Cuomo's lawyer, Rita Glavin, was stating an opinion when she wrote a letter in 2021 calling on the state inspector general to investigate leaked material to the press concerning Cuomo's dealings with the former Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which was replaced in July 2022 by the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.