Judge ends Giuliani bankruptcy, heightening legal risks

By Dietrich Knauth

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Friday ended Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy, allowing lawsuits for defamation, sexual harassment and other claims to proceed against Donald Trump’s former lawyer.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in White Plains, New York, also banned Giuliani from seeking bankruptcy for one year.

Giuliani, 80, filed for bankruptcy protection in December after a Washington, D.C., court ordered the former New York City mayor to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of rigging votes in the 2020 presidential election which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.

The bankruptcy prevented the election workers from collecting on that judgment, while freezing other lawsuits stemming from Giuliani’s work for Trump, the former Republican president, as he sought to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.

The dismissal by allows Giuliani’s creditors to resume lawsuits against him, but it frees Giuliani to appeal the $148 million defamation judgment that forced him to seek bankruptcy protection.

The former Georgia election workers, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, argued Giuliani should be kicked out of bankruptcy so they could try to collect on their $148 million judgment against him.

Giuliani’s other creditors include former employee Noelle Dunphy, who has accused Giuliani of sexual assault and wage theft, and the voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic, who have also sued Giuliani for defamation. Giuliani has denied the allegations.