A federal judge upheld a jury decision from December that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani must pay $148 million in damages to two Georgia election workers he was found to have defamed after the 2020 election.
Mr. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2023, a day after receiving the order.
The former mayor’s attorneys attempted to get the ruling reversed in February, arguing that some statements about emotional harm were time-barred, lacked evidence, and that some testimony should have been disregarded.
What Led to Ruling
The $148 million payout stems from a lawsuit in which Mr. Giuliani was accused of defaming two former election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, with false accusations that they committed voter fraud while counting ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, in the 2020 presidential election.The two election workers claimed they were subjected to relentless abuse after they were identified in a video clip that became widely circulated after the 2020 general election. In the video, the election workers are seen allegedly mishandling ballots.
However, an investigation by the Georgia Elections Board cleared Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss of any wrongdoing.
Mr. Giuliani’s attorney, Joseph Sibley, told the court after the $148 million judgment was issued that the multimillion-dollar payout would spell “the end” for his client and that it would be “the civil equivalent of a death penalty.”
The former New York mayor opted not to contest allegations that he made false statements in the defamation lawsuit brought by the two election workers, though his adviser said it was a legal tactic to allow the case to move forward.
Mr. Giuliani has defended his claims about the former election workers and told reporters on Dec. 11—the day the defamation trial began—that “everything I said about them is true.”
In bankruptcy filings, 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.
More on Ruling
Attorneys for Mr. Giuliani argued that the testimony of two witnesses was not properly admitted, but Judge Howell wrote that this argument amounted to “another instance of him crying crocodile tears.”The judge continued, stating that despite that failure and the default judgment on liability against him for those reasons, the bankruptcy court granted his request to lift the bankruptcy stay to permit him to appeal.
“With the automatic bankruptcy stay lifted for Giuliani’s benefit to continue litigating in this case, he now renews his motion made at trial for judgment as a matter of law (”JMOL“), pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b), or alternatively, for ‘a new trial and/or to alter or amend the Final Judgment,’” she wrote.
Attorneys for Mr. Giuliani argued five points, including that plaintiffs failed to present a claim. They also said that “unpleaded conduct” was used for damages and claimed it wasn’t properly presented; asserted that statements causing emotional distress occurred over a year before the lawsuit, thus limiting liability; and challenged the lack of expert testimony on emotional harm attribution.
They also argued for the exclusion of certain witness testimony and documents, but the judge was not convinced.
“These arguments are foreclosed by the law of the case doctrine based on this Court’s Default Judgment Decision imposing liability on Giuliani for plaintiffs’ claims as a discovery sanction—and Giuliani provides no basis to exempt him from application of that doctrine here—and otherwise fail on the merits,” Judge Howell wrote. “Giuliani’s motion is accordingly denied.”
