Mr. Cuomo's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a legal filing with JAMS, an arbitration organization, on Wednesday that he was seeking the $15 million owed to Mr. Cuomo under his contract as well as "future wages lost as a result of CNN's efforts to destroy his reputation."
Mr. Cuomo was fired just days after the New York attorney general released a trove of emails and text messages indicating he had been intimately involved in providing strategic advice to his brother, Andrew M. Cuomo, who was facing a mounting sexual harassment scandal as governor of New York.
Jeff Zucker, CNN's president at the time, fired Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Cuomo has claimed that Mr. Zucker was aware of his dealings with his brother, which Mr. Zucker has denied.
An internal investigation into Mr. Cuomo ordered by WarnerMedia, CNN's parent company, soon put Mr. Zucker in jeopardy as well. Mr. Zucker resigned under pressure in early February after the investigation revealed that he had failed to disclose a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, the network's head of marketing and communications. "The investigation found violations of company policies, including CNN's news standards and practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo," WarnerMedia later stated. Mr. Zucker and Ms. Gollust both deny this.
Mr. Cuomo's lawyer, Mr. Freedman, stated on Wednesday that it "should now be obvious that Chris Cuomo did not lie to CNN about helping his brother."
"In fact, as the limited information released from WarnerMedia's investigation shows, CNN's top executives not only knew about Chris's involvement in assisting his brother, but also actively assisted the governor, both through Chris and directly," Mr. Freedman continued.
A spokesman for CNN declined to comment. Mr. Cuomo's legal filing was first reported by Deadline on Wednesday.