Justyna Zubko-Valva, the mother of Thomas Valva, and her attorneys said Monday, July 13 that a new deal had been reached with Suffolk County in Thomas’s horrifying 2020 death, according to Newsday.
Zubko-Valva, of Valley Stream, initially reached the settlement in September 2025. She had sued Suffolk County and numerous administrators in Child Protective Services for $200 million over Thomas’s death.
But the agreement was dramatically tossed on Thursday, June 25, when Judge Brian Cogan ripped Zubko-Valva and her attorneys for not complying with the court’s requests relating to the deal.
“The court is not going to authorize any further extensions of time to complete discovery or to file a new settlement approval motion,” Cogan wrote. “THIS CASE IS GOING TO TRIAL.”
However, that may no longer be the case, following Zubko-Valva’s latest request, according to News 12 Long Island. Cogan has not yet ruled on the latest motion.
Thomas Valva was 8 years old when his father locked him and his brother Anthony in a freezing cold garage in January 2020 in Center Moriches. Michael Valva, an ex-NYPD officer, and his fiancée, Angela Pollina, had custody of Thomas at the time.
Pollina and Michael Valva were convicted of second-degree murder in 2022 and 2023 for their deliberate neglect. The case also spotlighted failures in Suffolk County’s CPS system, after school officials said they repeatedly alerted CPS about Thomas coming to school starving and bruised, but he remained in his father’s care.
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