The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a wrongful death lawsuit against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo related to his administration's nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The case involved a Brooklyn family seeking to hold Cuomo responsible for the death of their relative in a nursing home during the early months of the pandemic. The family argued that Cuomo's policies contributed to the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities.

Cuomo's administration in March 2020 issued guidance directing nursing homes to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19, a policy that became highly controversial as infection rates and deaths rose in care facilities across New York. The policy was later reversed in May 2020.

The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case means lower court rulings dismissing the lawsuit will stand. The Court did not provide reasoning for declining to take up the case, which is standard practice for such decisions.

New York nursing homes experienced some of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the nation during the early pandemic period. State officials have defended the policies as necessary responses to overwhelming hospital capacity issues at the time.