NEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani has been allowed to remain in his Florida apartment for the time being after a bankruptcy judge in New York refused Thursday to rule on a motion filed by his creditors that would have forced him to sell the Palm Beach estate.
During a hearing, Judge Sean Lane acknowledged “significant” concerns that Giuliani was putting money into the apartment owed to his numerous creditors, but said he would hold off on forcing a sale of the property for about $3.5 million .
Giuliani declared bankruptcy in December after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about their role in the 2020 election.
He has agreed to sell his Manhattan apartment for about $5 million but believes he should continue living in the Florida apartment, citing the need to record his podcast there and the “prohibitive” costs of finding of a new house in New York.
“If the court forces the sale of the Florida condominium, the debtor will be forced to incur costs for alternative housing,” his attorneys wrote in a March 28 motion. “Isn’t it the committee’s intention that the debtor joins the ranks of the homeless?”
The bankruptcy has spawned a diverse coalition of creditors who say they owe money to Giuliani, including a supermarket worker who went to jail for patting him on the back, two election technology companies about which he spread conspiracies, a woman who says he has several from his former lawyers, the IRS and Hunter Biden, who allege Giuliani illegally shared his personal information, forced her to have sex.
An attorney representing many of these creditors, Rachel Biblo Block, said Thursday that Giuliani had spent at least $160,000 in maintenance fees and taxes on the Florida apartment since the bankruptcy, far more than the $8,000 in monthly payments his lawyers had previously estimated .
These payments, she added, “rapidly depleted” Giuliani’s limited assets, including about $15,000 in cash and $1 million in a retirement account.
“We don’t want our creditors to be left holding the bag while he goes to live in his luxury apartment,” she said, adding that Giuliani had “shown an inclination to wait” while he appeals the verdict in court. Election workers case in Georgia.
While the judge suggested he was unlikely to force a sale of the property, he hinted at more “draconian” measures if Giuliani fails to comply with requests for information about his spending habits – including the possible appointment of a trustee to oversee his finance.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 14.
