Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani arrives at the federal courthouse in Washington, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Rudy Giuliani on Friday asked a federal judge in New York City to modify the stay of his bankruptcy case to allow him to appeal the $148 million defamation verdict won by former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ “Shaye” Moss.
In a 15-page filing, attorney Gary Fischoff asked U.S. Bankruptcy Sean Lane to modify a stay previously issued in February “for the limited purpose” of being able “to prosecute and perfect” their case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. And, the former Donald Trump attorney’s own legal team says, time is of the essence.
On Feb. 20, Lane issued a modification of the stay allowing the debtor to file a motion for a new trial and a notice of appeal. While Giuliani quickly availed himself of signaling his intent to appeal, the judge’s earlier order did not specifically allow a direct appeal.
Now, deadlines loom in the capital district’s federal court of appeals.
On April 15, D.C.-based U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell denied the new trial request on the merits, maintaining that the former New York City mayor was still on the hook for defaming Freeman and Moss with several false statements about their roles in the 2020 election.
In that case, Giuliani was taken to task — with Freeman as the lead plaintiff — for a campaign against the women in which he falsely proclaimed the pair were engaged in fraud and had “cheated” voters. Those lies were rebroadcast by former President Donald Trump — and others in his orbit — and shared far and wide. Despite being quickly and thoroughly debunked, the lies were seized upon by adherents of the 45th president, leading to hundreds of death threats — many of them racist — against the mother and daughter, who are Black.
On April 17, Giuliani’s legal team filed a notice with Lane asking for permission to spend a “flat fee” of $250,000 so he could hire a friend and professional colleague he has known since the 1970s to represent him at the appellate level in the defamation case.
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On April 18, the appellate court finally docketed the case for appeal. In his Friday filings, Giuliani attached an abbreviated schedule prepared by the D.C. Circuit’s court clerk. Under those timelines, the parties have to submit at least 12 kinds of documents by May 20.
The filing also notes that, under the appellate court’s rules, Giuliani has until May 15 to file an amended notice of appeal, which he has to file if he wants to include any discussion of how the D.C. District court rubbished his new trial request, which he does. Otherwise, those arguments would likely be viewed by the reviewing court as waived.
In other words, Giuliani is asking the bankruptcy to quickly allow his attorneys to move forward with various aspects of the appeal which the previous and limited stay modification did not address.
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In making the case to Lane, Giuliani’s team stresses how the appeal itself will be instrumental to the underlying bankruptcy case.
“[T]he modification of the stay, as requested in this motion, will greatly and favorably impact the resolution of this Chapter 11 case,” Giuliani’s motion to modify the stay reads. “[I]f the Debtor is successful in the Appeal, it will have a profound effect on the status of the case and will surely accelerate the Debtor’s exit strategy. It is imperative to a full and fair resolution of this Chapter 11 proceeding that the Debtor have the Freeman judgment reversed or modified.”
Notably, Giuliani’s filing also argues that, should he succeed in appealing the defamation judgment, his potential victory “can only assist and not prejudice other creditors” because if he avoids paying the election workers, or reduces the amount he owes them, “there will be more funds available” to “satisfy” other creditors.
The “logical next step,” Giuliani argues, is moving forward with the appeal of the defamation verdict — and for the bankruptcy court to instruct all the parties to comply with the appellate court’s orders.
“In this instance, the $148 million verdict and resulting Judgment were the immediate precipitating cause of the Debtor’s Chapter 11 filings,” the filing goes on. “The Debtor believes the Judgment is erroneous. The Debtor expects to be successful in having the judgment modified, vacated, or reversed.”
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