Giuliani Fights Creditors’ Bid to Force Palm Beach Condo Sale

Rudolph Giuliani urged a bankruptcy court to reject efforts by his creditors to force the sale of his Palm Beach, Fla. condominium, saying the request is premature and lacks a legal basis.

The bankrupt former New York City mayor, who owes nearly $150 million in legal judgments, said in court papers Thursday that a March 15 request to have his Florida residence put up for sale is unsupported by the law and fails to account for the possibility that he might be able to dramatically reduce his legal liabilities through a pending appeal. His creditors, including two Georgia 2020 election workers holding a defamation judgment against him, say he should sell the home to boost his ability to pay his debts.

“The debtor understands that he has an obligation to pay his creditors what they would receive if his assets were liquidated, but that issue and such amounts/obligations will be established in an approved plan of reorganization, not by the proposed forced sale of the Florida condominium by the committee,” he told the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“The debtor could be irreparably harmed” if he’s immediately forced to put his home up for sale, Giuliani said. “Surely the committee does not intend the debtor to join the ranks of the homeless?”

An attorney for the committee didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Florida condo, estimated to be worth about $3.5 million, is one of the two most valuable assets that Giuliani owns. The other—a Manhattan apartment—is currently being prepared to be sold.

Upon court approval, the Manhattan apartment will be listed for approximately $5 million, Giuliani said in his filing Thursday.

Although Giuliani’s Florida home isn’t subject to a homestead exemption, there’s still no rational basis to have it put on the market, he said. Giuliani noted that he owns the Florida residence outright and pays just over $8,000 a month for maintenance and real estate taxes from retirement account funds, not property of his Chapter 11 estate.

Additionally, once the New York apartment is sold, his monthly expenses will be “significantly reduced,” Giuliani said.

Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December after being hit with a $148 million court judgment for falsely accusing the two Georgia poll workers of committing election fraud. The former Donald Trump attorney said he is in the process of appealing that award, calling the amount “excessive.”

Giuliani is represented by Berger Fischoff Shumer Wexler & Goodman LLP.

The committee is represented by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

The case is In re Rudolph W. Giuliani, Bankr. S.D.N.Y., No. 23-12055, opposition brief 3/28/24.