The judge overseeing Leah McSweeney’s lawsuit against Bravo and Andy Cohen has given her attorney the go-ahead to start digging into private recordings and documents related to the case and to set up under-oath interviews with people associated with it.
As Page Six first reported, McSweeney is suing the network and its figurehead Cohen, claiming that they tried to make her fall off the wagon while she was appearing on two of their shows, the “Real Housewives of New York City” and “Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip.” (Cohen is an executive producer on both).
She claims in the suit filed in February that producers thought she’d get them higher ratings if she was volatile and unpredictable — so they intentionally undermined her hard-won sobriety until she began to drink again.
3 Lawyers for Cohen and Bravo had asked the court to prevent McSweeney’s attorneys from beginning “discovery” until a judge had ruled on whether or not to dismiss her suit.Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images
McSweeney also famously claimed in the suit that Cohen has done cocaine with some of the stars of the “Housewives” shows. (He has strenuously denied all the claims against him).
Now it seems her lawyers will get a chance to dig into personal files and recordings that may or may not prove those claims.
A few months back, attorneys for Cohen and Bravo asked a judge to dismiss the suit — and asked that the court prevent her lawyers from beginning “discovery” (the legal terms for the period before a jury trial begins when each side can request documents and testimony from the other side) until the judge decides whether or not to dismiss the suit entirely.
3 On Friday, the judge said that McSweeney’s team could begin digging into evidence before the court rules on the motion to dismiss.leahmob/Instagram
On Friday, according to legal documents seen by Page Six, the judge in the case, Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York, denied that request, saying that McSweeney’s lawyers may proceed with discovery while he continues to decides on whether to toss the case.
McSweeney is also suing various producers, Shed Media, the production company that makes “RHONY” and “Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip” for Bravo, NBC Universal, the company that owns Bravo and Warner Bros., the company that owns Shed.
Bravo didn’t get back to us. A rep for Cohen declined to comment.