Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani could be forced to sell his New York and Florida homes to cover a massive $148 million defamation lawsuit judgment.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may be forced to sell his homes in New York and Florida to raise cash for a massive defamation judgment against him as he works his way through bankruptcy proceedings, according to court statements by attorneys.
Mr. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2023, a day after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation while he was a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Giuliani listed liabilities of $100 million to $500 million and assets of as much as $10 million, according to a bankruptcy form that was filed on Dec. 21 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Attorneys said during a March 13 status conference at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York that several of Mr. Giulani’s properties may be put up for sale to raise cash to pay off his nearly $153 million debt, the bulk of which is the $148 million defamation judgment, according to Bloomberg Law.
Heath Berger, of Berger Fischoff Shumer Wexler & Goodman LLP, who represents Mr. Giuliani, said in court on Wednesday that a draft listing agreement for Mr. Giuliani’s New York condo is being finalized, while Philip Dublin, of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, said that a committee representing Mr. Giuliani’s unsecured creditors is working on putting his Palm Beach, Florida, property up for sale, per the report.
Mr. Giuliani’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the development.
Defamation Judgment
While the values of some of Mr. Giuliani’s debts were listed as “unknown” in his bankruptcy filing, the biggest specified liability was the $148 million a federal jury ordered him to pay to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, the two former Georgia election workers.
Other creditors listed in Mr. Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing include the New York State Department of Taxation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with Mr. Giuliani’s total liabilities owed to the government totaling nearly $1 million.
By Tom Ozimek