Georgia election workers sue Giuliani again
Two former election workers in Georgia who successfully sued Rudolph W. Giuliani for spreading baseless lies about them after the 2020 presidential election sued him again on Monday, in an effort to stop him from continuing to repeat those falsehoods.
Attorneys for the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, also asked the Federal District Court in Washington on Monday to force Mr. Giuliani to pay the $148 million in damages he immediately owes the women because of his financial troubles. Normally there is a 30 day delay before a defendant can be forced to pay.
On Friday, a jury awarded damages to Ms Freeman and Ms Moss for destroying their reputations and inflicting significant emotional distress.
During the week-long trial to determine the amount of damages, and in the days that followed, Mr. Giuliani, speaking in interviews and to reporters outside the courthouse, repeated his debunked claims that the women tried to assassinate President Donald J. Trump to take away the victory as they counted. voting in Fulton County, Georgia, on November 3, 2020.
In the new lawsuit, Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss ask that the court force Mr. Giuliani to stop making the baseless allegations.
Monday’s two actions indicate that the women will continue to aggressively press their case against Mr. Giuliani after the jury’s verdict on Friday.
Mr. Giuliani’s false accusations about Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss began when he was serving as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer. At the time, he helped lead Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“Defendant Giuliani has proven to be an exceptionally recalcitrant litigant, and has demonstrated an unwillingness to comply with legal process, including orders to pay attorneys’ fees and costs,” the court said Monday in the woman’s first lawsuit against Mr Giuliani.
“In particular, there is good reason to believe that Defendant Giuliani intends to avoid payment of the judgment by any means necessary,” the filing said.
Mr. Giuliani has refused to turn over information about his assets to the court that could reveal his net worth. Lawyers for Ms Freeman and Ms Moss said there was a “significant risk” that Mr Giuliani would liquidate his assets before the women saw any of the damage.
After Friday’s ruling, a lawyer familiar with his legal situation said Mr. Giuliani would likely file for bankruptcy.
Mr. Giuliani is being sued by a former lawyer over unpaid bills and faces a new defamation suit stemming from his efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power. He also faces criminal charges in Georgia in connection with these efforts.
E. Jean Carroll, a former advice columnist and fixture in Manhattan media circles, won a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Trump this year. But like Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Trump continued to defame her, so she sued him again.
Paying compensation can take years.
Alan Feuer reporting contributed.