Federal judge orders Thomas Valva wrongful death lawsuit against Suffolk County to trial

A federal judge has ordered the wrongful death lawsuit against Suffolk County in the killing of 8-year-old Thomas Valva to trial, after his mother failed to follow the court's instructions to finalize a $9 million settlement with the county.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan, in a tersely worded order Thursday, rejected a request from the lawyer for Thomas' mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, for an extension to complete the discovery process and to continue to finalize the settlement, and ordered a trial with jury selection to begin on Sept. 22 in federal court in Brooklyn.

"How the parties choose to focus their efforts between now and trial is up to them," Cogan wrote. "But the court is not going to authorize any further extensions of time to complete discovery or to file a new settlement approval motion. THIS CASE IS GOING TO TRIAL."

The judge's ruling came after a series of contentious court hearings in the civil case connected to the death of Thomas Valva, who was killed by his NYPD officer father, Michael Valva, and his father’s fiancee, Angela Pollina, after the pair forced him to sleep in the freezing garage of their Center Moriches home.

Thomas’ killing became a symbol of dysfunction at Suffolk County’s Child Protective Services, which is facing new questions over its handling of the case of 7-year-old Jor’Dynn Duncan, the Bayport girl who prosecutors said was tortured and killed by her legal guardian last year. Thomas’ death resulted in a grand jury investigation, which recommended no criminal charges against the caseworkers who were tasked with investigating allegations that Thomas was abused. 

Earlier this month, Cogan rejected Zubko-Valva's infant compromise motion — required in settlements involving minors — after the defendants in the case, including Suffolk, opposed the motion on several fronts.

"Defendants' response to plaintiffs' motion makes it clear that there is no settlement on the terms proposed by the motion," Cogan wrote on June 8.

Zubko-Valva's lawyer, Thomas Bosworth, did not respond to a message seeking comment. A spokesman for Suffolk County declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Zubko-Valva had repeatedly resisted filing the necessary paperwork to finalize the agreement, frustrating the judge, who warned her the case would go to trial if she didn't file the motion.

But the motion that was filed didn't address several issues, according to court papers filed jointly by the county and the other defendants, including a general release from any future legal claims. 

In 2020, Zubko-Valva filed a $200 million wrongful death suit against the county and seven CPS supervisors and investigators; Valva and Pollina; several attorneys and law offices involved in the placement of the children; and the East Moriches school district and administrators following Thomas' death.

The $9 million settlement agreement was reached in 2025, but the finalization of it has hit a series of delays as Zubko-Valva has contested several issues.

Zubko-Valva, who has appealed to the court for a quick payout because her Valley Stream home is in foreclosure, proposed that she receive $5,645,615.60 via a wire transfer and her other sons, Anthony and Andrew, each receive $177,342.20 in custodial bank accounts that cannot be accessed until they are 18 years old. Bosworth’s Philadelphia-based firm would be paid $3 million, or 33% of the settlement amount.

Thomas died of hypothermia on Jan. 17, 2020, after his father and Pollina forced Thomas and his older brother, Anthony, both on the autism spectrum, to sleep in an unheated garage when the temperature was 19 degrees, and starved and beat them.

Michael Valva and Pollina were convicted of second-degree murder in Thomas’ death and endangering the welfare of a child for the abuse of Thomas and Anthony in separate trials.

Michael Valva and Pollina are serving sentences of 25 years to life in upstate prisons.

School officials had testified at Valva and Pollina's trials that they "flooded" a CPS child abuse hotline with reports of Thomas frequently coming to school starving and bruised, but CPS didn't remove the children from their father's care.

Zubko-Valva had lost custody of her children about two years before Thomas' death and had refused court-ordered supervised visits with Thomas and his brothers as she and Michael Valva were engaged in a contentious divorce.