Judge tees up dismissal of Giuliani bankruptcy, opening door for creditors to collect

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A judge approved a deal to dismiss Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy on Friday, which will bring an end to a case that has for months frustrated his creditors and, at times, even the judge. The dismissal of Giuliani’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy will mean his creditors can soon begin to go after his assets to recover some of the money they’re owed. That includes Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers whom Giuliani defamed over the 2020 election and to whom he owes nearly $150 million in a civil judgment. A former lawyer for Donald Trump, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December 2023 after being handed the verdict in Freeman and Moss’ defamation case. His seeking bankruptcy protections meant that the Georgia women could not begin to collect on the judgment, and it froze proceedings in the other civil lawsuits against him (he has denied any wrongdoing in those cases). But the disgraced lawyer’s bankruptcy bogged down in what his creditors characterized as his stonewalling and lack of cooperation. Giuliani’s lawyers eventually requested that his bankruptcy be converted to Chapter 7 so that his assets could be liquidated, then later proposed the case be dismissed entirely. New York Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane agreed in mid-July to dismiss Giuliani’s bankruptcy, but afterward threatened to reverse that decision because of Giuliani’s failure to pay roughly $400,000 in administrative expenses — which Giuliani claimed he did not have the ability to pay. On Wednesday, Giuliani came to an agreement with his creditors to pay $100,000 of that sum now, and then settle the remainder of those expenses when he sells his penthouse apartment in New York or his Florida condo. The $100,000 is due one business day after the Friday ruling, after which his bankruptcy case will officially be dismissed, NBC News reported. Giuliani’s spokesperson, Ted Goodman, did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. Attorneys for Freeman and Moss also did not respond.