A New York federal bankruptcy judge on Friday in a scathing ruling dismissed the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection case of Rudy Giuliani, immediately exposing the former Trump lawyer to his creditors seeking repayments of his massive debts in other court venues.
Those creditors include two Georgia election workers, to whom Giuliani owes $148 million in civil damages for defamation from a federal district court jury award in December.
The damages stem from slanderous statements the former New York City mayor made about the workers, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, when he was trying to overturn the loss of then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Freeman and Moss, unlike many other Giuliani creditors, supported the idea of dismissing the bankruptcy case, which he filed days after losing the defamation judgment.
Giuliani also agreed to the dismissal, as it would allow him to go forward with an appeal of his court loss to the women, and avoid having a bankruptcy trustee oversee the handling of his assets.
In his ruling dismissing Giuliani’s bankruptcy protection case, Judge Sean Lane of the Southern District of New York wrote that he “finds that dismissal of this bankruptcy case with a one year bar to refiling is in the best interests of creditors.”
Lane blasted Giuliani’s conduct in the case, writing, “The record … reflects Mr. Giuliani’s continued failure to meet his reporting obligations and provide the financial transparency required of a debtor in possession.”
“Most significantly, none of Mr. Giuliani’s business entities have made any production [of required information] at all despite being required to do so,” the judge wrote.
“Nor has Mr. Giuliani or his entities identified any legitimate reason why the requested information should not or cannot be produced,” he added. “This failure to provide even basic disclosure about these assets is sufficient in and of itself for a finding of cause.”
A spokesman for Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment by CNBC.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
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