The judge who presided over Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy case said Thursday that he might have to reconsider his decision to dismiss the case because of Giuliani's failure to pay some of his creditors' expenses.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Sean Lane of the Southern District of New York had said he would dismiss Giuliani's petition seeking bankruptcy protections after he found that Giuliani, the onetime attorney for former President Donald Trump, had failed to turn over key financial information, despite numerous directives to do so.
In an order entered Thursday, Lane said he hadn't yet dismissed the case because Giuliani hadn't paid the administrative expenses, "a necessary requirement under the law for dismissal of the case."
Dismissing the case would pave the way for two former election workers in Georgia to begin collecting on their $146 million verdict against Giuliani after he repeatedly defamed them following the 2020 election.
Giuliani, the judge noted Thursday, has proposed providing the creditors’ accountants with a lien on his New York apartment — which is on the market — “so that such fees would be in line to be paid only if and when the New York apartment is sold.”
While Giuliani has said he doesn’t have the funds necessary to pay, Lane said it’s difficult to assess whether or not that’s true because Giuliani has “failed to provide transparency into his financial affairs and, therefore, it is unclear what funds he has available to pay these administrative costs.”
The judge said he could order a hearing to determine Giuliani's financial state in an effort to dismiss the case while ensuring the outstanding administrative expenses are paid. Lane said that would "inevitably include disclosure of documents and might include testimony under oath" by Giuliani but that it would most likely mirror the "unsuccessful efforts at financial transparency that have plagued the case to date."
Another option, he said, would be to continue the bankruptcy and appoint a trustee to oversee Giuliani's financial affairs and to "promptly liquidate assets such as the New York apartment as appropriate.” He asked all interested parties, including Giuliani, “to provide their views on the most appropriate path forward” by Wednesday.
Other parties in the case notably include former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who are Giuliani's largest creditors. Giuliani filed his bankruptcy petition in December, days after a jury awarded Freeman and Moss nearly $150 million for Giuliani's false allegations of election fraud against them.
A representative for Giuliani didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
