By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rudy Giuliani faces another day in court on Thursday, after two Georgia election workers who were defamed by the former New York City mayor said he is ignoring a court order to surrender his luxury apartment and other belongings.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan had on Oct. 22 ordered Giuliani, formerly a U.S. Attorney and personal lawyer to President-elect Donald Trump, to hand over the property to Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss within seven days.
The property would partially satisfy a $148 million judgment that a Washington, D.C. jury awarded Freeman and Moss in December 2023.
A lawyer for Freeman and Moss said in a Nov. 4 court filing that the property includes Giuliani’s Manhattan co-op apartment, a 1980 Mercedes, sports memorabilia and cash accounts. He also said someone emptied the apartment of most of its contents.
Following the filing, Liman converted a scheduled telephone conference for Thursday to an in-person hearing and ordered Giuliani to show up.
He also denied Giuliani’s request for a reconsideration so Giuliani could do a radio broadcast in Palm Beach, Florida.
Giuliani plans to attend Thursday’s hearing, his lawyer Kenneth Caruso said.
In a Wednesday court filing, Caruso also said Giuliani was complying with the turnover order and would continue to cooperate.
He also accused Freeman and Moss of dragging their feet, and said they should work with the co-op and Giuliani’s bank to facilitate the handovers.
“It’s not Defendant’s compliance that’s lagging here – it’s Plaintiffs’ follow-through,” Caruso wrote.
Freeman and Moss accused Giuliani of destroying their reputations through lies that they tried to help steal the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Trump.
Giuliani, 80, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the $148 million verdict.
The federal judge overseeing that case dismissed it after finding that Giuliani failed to provide a complete picture of his finances. That dismissal removed Giuliani’s legal protections from creditors like Freeman and Moss.
Giuliani has been disbarred in New York, and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona that he aided Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump, a Republican, won a second White House term in Tuesday’s election, defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)