Giuliani Loses Bid to Reverse $148 Million Defamation Verdict

A judge has rejected Rudolph Giuliani’s effort to overturn the $148 million judgment he was ordered to pay two Georgia poll workers he accused of rigging the 2020 presidential election.

The former New York mayor urged the US District Court for the District of Columbia to reverse its December ruling and override a jury’s verdict finding him liable for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Judge Beryl A. Howell’s Monday ruling effectively cut short Giuliani’s attempt to reduce his debt in bankruptcy.

The judge wasn’t convinced by what she called Giuliani’s “threadbare” arguments for a new trial or reduction of the award for poll workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, adding that relitigating the dispute would lead to the same result.

Howell rejected Giuliani’s arguments that Freeman and Moss’ emotional distress claims were untimely and hadn’t been attributed to his alleged conduct. The former mayor’s “utter failure” to follow discovery procedures and pay attorneys fees, after “multiple opportunities,” contributed to Howell’s decision to affirm the $148 million judgment.

“Simply put, Giuliani does not offer any reason why this court should depart from its prior rulings and overrule the jury’s considered verdict on this issue,” Howell said.

Giuliani filed Chapter 11 in December in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York shortly after the judgment was awarded. Giuliani has reported having $10.6 million in assets against nearly $153 million in liabilities.

The former mayor is currently fighting in bankruptcy court to keep his Palm Beach, Fla. condo, worth $3.5 million, off the market. He plans to sell his home in Manhattan, which is estimated to be worth $5.6 million.

Freeman and Moss are represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Giuliani is represented by Camara & Sibley LLP.

The case is Freeman v. Giuliani, D.D.C., 21-cv-03354, 4/15/24.