Roxanne 
Leah McSweeney just scored a significant legal victory in her ongoing battle with Andy Cohen and Bravo.
The former Real Housewives of New York star is keeping her lawsuit in open court after a federal judge rejected a last-minute attempt by Cohen and the network to move the case into private arbitration.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Bravo and Cohen initially fought parts of the lawsuit in federal district court. But after early rulings didn’t go their way, their legal team attempted to shift the case to private arbitration, a move that would have kept the proceedings out of public view.
The judge wasn’t having it.
In a pointed ruling, Judge Lewis Liman made it clear the defendants had waited too long to change course. He ruled that by already litigating in federal court, they had waived their right to arbitration and couldn’t suddenly switch strategies after the fact.
As the judge put it, the defendants “cannot have their cake and eat it too.”
Liman didn’t stop there. In a moment of courtroom commentary that felt straight out of a Housewives reunion, the judge called out the timing of the request.
“It was not until after they had taken that gambit and lost, and after they confronted what might have appeared to be the daunting specter of civil discovery in federal court, that they changed course,” Liman wrote.
He also made it crystal clear arbitration wasn’t meant to be used as a backup plan once litigation gets uncomfortable.
“Arbitration is not a fallback position. It is not a second bite at the apple,” the judge wrote. “Rather, a party with a claim to arbitration faces a binary choice: litigation or arbitration. One cannot have it both ways.”
With that ruling, the case will continue in open court in the Southern District of New York.
McSweeney originally filed the lawsuit in 2024, accusing Bravo producers of exploiting her struggles with alcohol addiction during her time on the show. She alleged the production team attempted to push her to drink because they believed she would be more entertaining on camera if she was intoxicated.
In the complaint, McSweeney claimed producers “directly coerced and harassed [her] based on her [addiction].”
Earlier in the case, Judge Liman dismissed one of McSweeney’s claims that she was discriminated against as a recovering alcoholic. The judge ruled that producers have a First Amendment right to create the type of show they want, including one where cast members are expected to drink.
However, he allowed her allegations about producers encouraging and pressuring her to drink to move forward, meaning that portion of the case will now continue through the discovery process.
At this stage, both sides are requesting internal communications and private documents related to the case as the legal battle continues to unfold.
Andy Cohen has denied any wrongdoing.
And with the lawsuit now staying in federal court, the drama between McSweeney and Bravo is far from over.
