Damages in defamation suit hit already-strapped Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer told jurors that awarding two ex-Georgia election workers the $43 million requested in their defamation lawsuit would mark “the end of Mr. Giuliani.”

Four days later, the jury instead ordered Giuliani to pay $148 million.

As he now stares down the massive price tag, it remains unclear how the former New York City mayor will pay such a sum.

Even before the trial, the embattled former lawyer already appeared to face a cash crunch —including listing his Manhattan apartment for sale.

In at least one legal case, the former federal prosecutor has also taken to representing himself, court filings show.

And in other pending defamation lawsuits being brought against him by voting machine companies for his 2020 election claims, Giuliani’s attorneys noted an inability to pay his mounting bills. 

“These are a lot of bills that he’s not paying,” Adam Katz, an attorney representing Giuliani in one of those lawsuits, told a judge in August. “I think this is very humbling for Mr. Giuliani.”

The next month, some of Giuliani’s ex-lawyers sued him for what they say is nearly $1.4 million of unpaid legal bills. 

“In a continuing effort to avoid accountability, the Defendant has intentionally delayed this proceeding by engaging in frivolous motion practice,” the lawyers wrote in court filings earlier this week.

But none of those bills come close to the roughly $148 million Giuliani was ordered by a jury Friday to pay to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two ex-Georgia election workers who became targets of violent and racist threats after Giuliani accused them of 2020 election fraud. 

“I am quite confident when this case gets before a fair tribunal, it will be reversed so quickly it’ll make your head spin,” Giuliani, former President Trump’s personal lawyer, told reporters as he left the courthouse. “The absurd number that just came in will help that.”

Both women were awarded significant damages for Giuliani’s claims, which stemmed from their work at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena following the 2020 election. The trial lasted three and a half days, with both women testifying to their experiences being “terrorized” as a result of Giuliani’s baseless claims. 

Joseph Sibley, Giuliani’s attorney in the case, told jurors during his opening statement that even ordering Giuliani to pay $43 million would be the “civil equivalent of the death penalty.”

It would be “the end of Mr. Giuliani,” Sibley said.

The jury deliberated for more than 10 hours before deciding how much money to award the mother and daughter.

Moss was awarded nearly $37 million in damages incurred from the former mayor’s defamation and the emotional distress it caused. She testified that she has since been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and acute stress disorder, describing having “a lot of dark moments.”

Freeman was awarded nearly $36.2 million for the defamation and emotional distress caused by the false accusations against her. And both women together also received $75 million in punitive damages.

After the last number was read, gasps were heard in the courtroom and the jury foreperson’s hand was visibly shaking as she announced the amount.

Even U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee who oversaw the trial, seemed in shock as she added up the total.

When the judge later asked the parties how they wanted to proceed, Freeman and Moss’s lawyers said they were still determining a path forward and would provide an update on Monday. 

Giuliani was ordered to pay $132,000 in sanctions for not turning over evidence during the discovery process earlier in the case. But the plaintiffs later expressed concerns that Giuliani had failed to pay up, court filings show.  

Now, they will attempt to collect on the nine-figure sum.

“I want people to understand this: money will never solve all my problems,” Freeman said as she left the courthouse.