Judge dismisses Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy proceeding

July 12, 2024

Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane has dismissed Rudy Giuliani’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, removing a shield that for six months froze two Georgia election workers’ efforts to collect their $148 million defamation judgment. In the ruling (available here), the judge commented on Giuliani’s “continued failure” to provide financial transparency. 

Giuliani's case involves the interests of the two Georgia election workers who won a defamation claim against him, in addition to those of Dominion Voting Systems, and Giuliani’s former assistant Noelle Dunphy. The latter two have pending lawsuits, while the Georgia workers have an enforceable judgment for many times the value of Giuliani’s assets. 

Because they’re not all going to get the money they seek from Giuliani, the ones with perfected claims would like to attach all his assets now.  Dominion and Dunphy have argued that the case should remain as a Chapter 11 bankruptcy claim, while the Freeman plaintiffs urged the court to dismiss the case entirely.

And that is exactly what the judge did, leaving [for the moment] nothing for Dominion, whose defamation suit is still in discovery, or for Dunphy, who is suing Giuliani in state court for assault and various labor violations. Of course those parties would prefer that the court retain jurisdiction and adjudicate their claims while a Chapter 11 trustee babysits the debtor to ensure he doesn’t loot the estate.  I imagine appeals will follow.

For more on the story you can check:

The Hill 

Above the Law

MSNBC

Law & Crime (‘Continued failure’: Rudy Giuliani has bankruptcy case dismissed by angry judge who points out numerous ‘troubling’ discovery violations)

Courthouse News Service (Judge chides Rudy Giuliani for ‘troubling’ conduct, tosses NY bankruptcy case)

The Guardian

Above the Law (Rudy Giuliani Falls Ass Backwards Out Of Bankruptcy)

Jurist