The federal judge presiding over the case brought by the two Georgia poll workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, has had enough of Rudy's antics. Default judgment entered on all issues, including punitive damages. Only thing left to litigate is how much he owes. "As an additional sanction, at trial, "the jury will be instructed that they must, when determining an appropriate sum of punitive damages, infer that Giuliani is intentionally trying to hide relevant discovery about his financial assets for the purpose of artificially deflating his net worth," Howell added." Giuliani sanctioned by judge in defamation case brought by 2 Georgia election workers
So judge said he was stalling too much on discovery and just declared him guilty? Never heard of this happening before. I've heard of default judgements if the defendant doesn't show up at all, though. He must have really pissed that judge off. He's apparently broke so maybe he didn't care. For the legal minds, I'm sure this will be a grounds to appeal, right? What are his odds, there?
Not exactly like this but I've seen cases involving severe sanctions such as the dismissal of claims or the striking of defenses. The fact that punitive damages are in play here is interesting. Maybe he thinks he's not collectible? I know he's got the sexual harassment lawsuit to deal with, too. Some or all of any judgments may or may not be dischargeable in bankruptcy. I know fraud, for example, is not dischargeable. I don't know the specific causes of action in these civil cases against him or what he's doing here.
Rudy is broke as hell, no chance any judgement is collectable. Hope his kids weren't expecting an inheritance.
That is not accurate. This is beyond foot dragging. This is spoilation of evidence making it non-retrievable, ongoing unwillingness to comply with discovery obligations, and outright recalcitrance for the litigation process. Default judgment is absolutely an appropriate sanction with this level of widespread and knowing failure to comply with discovery. The judge even declined to hold him in contempt to persuade him because it would serve no purpose, delay getting to a judgment, and put his money in the court’s pocket rather than the plaintiff. This is exactly what those sanctions in FRCP 26 and 37 are for. Is it appealable? Yes, as part of the final judgment (if there are, in fact, damages found by a jury after a damages trial). However, it is highly unlikely to be reversed because it needs to be established that Howell abused her discretion imposing it. In other words, the appellate court isn’t considering it like it were fresh to them (de novo). They are going to look if Howell’s decision is reasonable under the facts: could any judge reasonably do the same thing and impose the same sanction under the facts? Spoiler: It is absolutely reasonable. This won’t be reversed.
Alright, the article didn't mention spoilation of evidence, but if that's the case, hopefully this holds up. My concern here is that the appeals judge could decide this judge was too hasty. The article does mention this could be a purposeful legal strategy by Guiliani to avoid prison, or at least not make his criminal trials easier. Hide the evidence for the civil case, knowing he's broke and can't pay a judgement anyway, so they can't use it against him in his criminal cases.
Always read the order. After you do, I’m confident you’ll agree that under the appropriate standard, the DC Circuit isn’t reversing this. Honestly, they may have done the same thing de novo.
Not to mention his legal expenses. Maybe the fundraiser that his orange friend is hosting will help raise funds for poor Rudy. Trump to headline fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani’s legal defense
I see where you actually posted about this first in the DC Bar Committee disbarment thread, post #18. DC Bar Committee Recommends Disbarment for Rudy Giuliani
Breaking: jury awards Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150m. Rudy needs to get a part-time job at this point. ETTD Giuliani trial: Jury awards election workers nearly $150 million WASHINGTON -- A jury awarded $148 million in damages on Friday to two former Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation over lies he spread about them in 2020 that upended their lives with racist threats and harassment. The former election workers will receive approximately $75 million apiece for targeting them with defamatory statements in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
150 mil? I don’t know or care about any of the details but two poll workers 150 mil? They will likely never see a dime. They should have sued him for 150k and then they could have gone to Hawaii and bought an Escalade at least.
