Giuliani’s Bankruptcy Case Is Thrown Out By Judge

(NewsReady.com) – In December 2023, a court ordered Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, to pay out $146 million in a defamation suit. Former President Donald Trump’s ex-attorney was found liable for defaming two Georgia election workers after the 2020 election. A few days after the verdict, Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That bankruptcy suit has now been thrown out.

On July 12, Judge Sean Lane threw the case out. He issued sharp criticism of Giuliani, accusing the former mayor of being a “recalcitrant debtor” who used the process to try to shield his assets from being seized by the plaintiffs in the defamation suit. Lane wrote, “Transparency into Mr. Giuliani’s finances has proven to be an elusive goal.” He said he didn’t think that was going to change.

The judge raised the possibility that Giuliani was funneling his income into other companies and did not report the income from those businesses, in an attempt to hide his finances from the court. Lane said the ex-attorney failed to disclose a book contract immediately and didn’t tell the court that he’d pitched a coffee brand.

Lane also mentioned that Giuliani had failed to hire an accountant, “which is the most rudimentary of steps.” The judge called it a “red flag.”

The bankruptcy case froze the former mayor’s assets, which protected them from being collected from his creditors, including the women he defamed. Now that the case has been thrown out, creditors can try to collect what they are owed. The lead attorney for the former election workers said they planned to “move forward as quickly as possible” to start seizing Giuliani’s assets.

The judge also noted that dismissing the case against Giuliani would allow multiple other lawsuits to move forward. He said the plaintiffs in those cases “have a right to a jury trial.” The former mayor wanted the case to be dismissed because he didn’t want a trustee to be appointed to the case.

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