Topline
Rudy Giuliani, the cash-strapped former mayor of New York City, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday, according to multiple reports, one day after he was ordered to immediately start paying $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who levied a defamation lawsuit against him.
Giuliani was ordered to pay the $148 million this week after a judge approved a request from defamed ... [+]
Key Facts
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York and listed estimated assets of between $1 million and $10 million and reported $100 million to $500 million of estimated liabilities, according to the filing.
The filing will pause civil litigation Giuliani is involved in and give him time to seek an appeal of the Georgia lawsuit in which he owes $148 million to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, the defamed Georgia election workers who accused him of promoting a conspiracy theory linking them with election fraud.
Freeman and Moss requested the removal of a 30-day stay on the payouts owed to them, arguing Giuliani was an uncooperative litigant and that there was a risk he’d use the stay to “alienate or dissipate what assets are available to satisfy even a small portion” of the $148 million.
Giuliani is suffering from other financial woes in addition to the $148 million, facing a lawsuit over his failure to pay almost $1.4 million in legal bills and owing more than $500,000 in unpaid taxes from 2021.
Contra
“The filing should be a surprise to no one. No person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Rudy Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount,” Giuliani political advisor Ted Goodman told Forbes. “Chapter 11 will afford Mayor Giuliani the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency for his finances under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, to ensure all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process.”
Crucial Quote
“Intentional torts like defamation are not dischargeable in bankruptcy,” University of Michigan law professor Barbara McQuade told MSNBC last Thursday. “And so it may be that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are able to chase Rudy Giuliani to his grave to catch every penny they can out of his pockets.”
Key Background
Joe Sibley, Giuliani’s attorney, said in opening arguments for the defamation trial that the damages the former New York mayor owes would amount to the “civil equivalent of the death penalty.” The $148 million owed to the election workers includes $33 million in defamation damages, $40 million for emotional distress and $75 million in punitive damages. Giuliani has maintained innocence after being found liable for defaming the workers. Giuliani, former President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, still faces 13 election interference charges in Fulton County, Georgia, alongside 17 other co-defendants. He was specifically hit with racketeering charges, conspiracy to commit forgery, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, filing false documents and making false statements in legislative meetings in Georgia.
Further Reading
Judge Orders Rudy Giuliani To Immediately Start Paying $148 Million To Defamed Election Workers (Forbes)
Meet Trump’s 18 Co-Defendants Charged In The Georgia Election Interference Case (Forbes)
