NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) — A judge said Wednesday that he may dismiss Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case.
Lawyers for the former New York City mayor and his main creditors, two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against him, agreed that dismissal was the best option.
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The case has faced allegations that Giuliani is not complying with bankruptcy laws and may be hiding assets. A dismissal would end his attempt to seek bankruptcy protection, but he would still be responsible for his debts. His creditors could pursue other legal options to recover the money they're owed, such as seizing his assets.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said he plans to make a decision by the end of the week. He scheduled a hearing for 1 p.m. Friday and could make his ruling at that time.
Lane ruled out converting the case to a liquidation, an option Giuliani recently proposed, saying that doing so would not be in the best interest of the people and entities he’s indebted to.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Gary Fischoff, said dismissing the case would allow the ex-mayor to appeal the defamation case, which arose from his efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. Another option would be to continue the Chapter 11 case with a court-appointed trustee managing Giuliani’s assets.
A lawyer for the former election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, accused Giuliani of using the bankruptcy process as a “bad-faith litigation tactic” and said “he regards this court as a pause button on his woes while he continues to live his life unbothered by creditors.”
Philip Dublin, a lawyer for a committee of Giuliani’s other creditors, said the committee would rather keep the bankruptcy case going with the appointment of a trustee.
Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, days after the former election workers won their defamation case. They said Giuliani’s targeting of them because of Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being stolen led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.
If dismissed, Freeman and Moss could resume their efforts to collect the $148 million award in Washington, D.C., avoiding further bankruptcy court legal fees. Lane mentioned that dismissal would include a 12-month ban on Giuliani filing for bankruptcy protection again.
Freeman and Moss also have a request before the judge to declare the $148 million judgment non-dischargeable during Giuliani’s bankruptcy.
Giuliani is also facing other legal issues, including disbarment in New York and potential disbarment in Washington for false statements about Trump’s 2020 election loss. He also faces criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona related to the election overturn efforts, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
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