Giuliani cannot pay the election workers he defamed. So they get his New York penthouse – National
Ancient Donald Trump lawyer and mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani must cede control of his Manhattan apartment and a number of valuable assets to two election workers to whom he owes a defamation judgment of nearly $150 million, a US judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge Lewis Liman of the Southern District of New York federal court in Manhattan said Giuliani had seven days to turn up the Madison Avenue apartment and a list of luxury items – including several watches, jewelry, furniture, sports memorabilia and a vintage Mercedes – under escrow. which will be controlled by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
Both women will also be entitled to legal fees. Giuliani claims Trump’s 2020 campaign is still owed him, an amount estimated to be around $2 million, the judge ruled.
Control of the Manhattan penthouse will be transferred to Moss and Freeman for sale. The apartment has an estimated value of over US$5 million.
Among the items Giuliani must hand over are a 1980 Mercedes once owned by Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall; 26 luxury watches, including one given to him by the French president after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when Giuliani was mayor of New York; and a baseball jersey signed by Joe DiMaggio.
One of these watches was given to Giuliani by his grandfather and he asked that he be allowed to keep it because of its sentimental value. But Liman rejected the request, saying Giuliani could have gotten an exemption if he proved it was worth less than $1,000, but he did not do so.
The judge added: “However distressing the circumstances, a party cannot argue that every family heirloom should be exempt. »
The decision on whether to transfer control of an additional Palm Beach, Fla., condo and a collection of New York Yankees World Series rings to receivership will be determined after an additional hearing in late October, Liman ruled . Giuliani’s son, Andrew, who is also named as a defendant in the case, claimed in court that his father gave him the rings.
Giuliani claimed the Palm Beach apartment should be exempt from receivership because it is his primary residence. Freeman and Moss hold a lien on the Florida property, valued at approximately US$3 million.
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Last year, a jury awarded $148 million in damages to Moss and Freeman, who sued Giuliani for defamation for lies he spread about them in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Giuliani was one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in making unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, and claimed that the two women – who at the time were election workers in Georgia – helped transfer ballots cast for Trump to his opponent Joe Biden, who won the election.
Moss and Freeman testified at their defamation trial and before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that Giuliani’s lies about them had disrupted their lives and led to death threats.
Giuliani filed for bankruptcy shortly after the defamation verdict in December. But in July, a judge threw out his case, citing failure to comply with court orders, failure to disclose his sources of income and his apparent reluctance to hire an accountant to review his books.
To date, Giuliani has paid Freeman and Moss nothing. The women sought control of Giuliani’s assets in August to obtain value for the judgment.
“We are proud that our clients can finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions,” Aaron Nathan, attorney for Freeman and Moss, said in a statement. “This result should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who intentionally choose to spread misinformation. »
Giuliani had asked the judge to bar Freeman and Moss from selling any of his assets until his appeal of the $148 million judgment is complete. Liman also rejected that request, saying Giuliani could have asked the federal court in Washington, D.C., where Freeman and Moss won their defamation suit, to halt any asset sales pending his appeal, but he did not. not done.
“The Court also has no doubt that certain items may have sentimental value to Defendant,” the judge wrote. “But that does not give the defendant the right to continue to enjoy its assets to the detriment of the plaintiffs to whom it owes approximately $150 million. After all, the underlying policy of these New York laws is that “no man should be permitted to live both in luxury and in debt.”
Giuliani, once a well-known prosecutor before running for mayor, was disbarred in New York and his law license was suspended in Washington, D.C., earlier this year over his false claims of election fraud. A review board in Washington recommended that he also be disbarred for making his allegations without any evidence.
—With additional files from the Associated Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
