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Giuliani contempt decision blocks him from doing this, putting his Florida condo at risk

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 7, 2025, 10:34 am CST

Disbarred lawyer Rudy Giuliani is “in dire jeopardy” of having to turn over his Palm Beach, Florida, condo to two Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation after a federal judge held the former New York City mayor in civil contempt Monday, according to a report by Politico.

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York barred Giuliani from presenting evidence on the primary defense that would allow him to keep the Florida condo after he failed to provide information that would help determine whether the property was his primary residence, Politico reports.

Liman’s decision allows him to draw negative inferences about Giuliani’s Florida residency, report the New York Times and Law.com.

The trial on whether 80-year-old Giuliani is entitled to keep the condo is scheduled for next week before Liman. At issue is whether the condo is Giuliani’s homestead entitled to protection under the Florida Constitution.

Publications with coverage, in addition to Politico, Law.com and the New York Times, include Reuters, the Associated Press and CNN.

The election workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, won a $148 million defamation verdict against Giuliani after he accused them of election fraud in the 2020 election. Giuliani was formerly a lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump.

Giuliani had claimed in now-dismissed bankruptcy proceedings that his New York co-op apartment was his homestead residence, which protected a portion of it in bankruptcy proceedings, according to a Dec. 27 decision denying Giuliani’s motion for summary judgment. After the bankruptcy dismissal, Giuliani declared Florida to be his domicile.

The contempt finding was for Giuliani’s failure to provide evidence about his primary residence, according to the New York Times.

Giuliani did not turn over full names of his doctors or provide a full list of other professional service providers, leading the judge to conclude that none was in Florida before Giuliani changed his residence there in January 2024, the AP explains. Liman also barred Giuliani from presenting testimony or electronic communications to establish the Florida homestead.

Giuliani could also be held in contempt separately for failing to turn over property, the New York Times says.

Giuliani has already turned over designer watches and a 1980 Mercedes-Benz convertible. He is also moving to turn over his Manhattan apartment in New York City. He did not provide a framed jersey of baseball player Joe DiMaggio, however, which he said he can’t find. Nor did he turn over his grandfather’s pocket watch, which he pulled out during the hearing Monday, saying he fears that it will be lost.

The liability verdict was delivered in a trial held only to determine damages after a different federal judge entered a default liability judgment against Giuliani for failing to provide meaningful discovery. That federal judge, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia, has scheduled a separate contempt hearing against Giuliani for Friday for alleged violation of an agreement not to make new defamatory claims about the election workers, Politico reports.

Giuliani said in his podcast Monday evening the New York court’s request for information was “enormously burdensome,” and he had already released “hundreds and hundreds of pages of discovery.” according to reporting by CNN. He said he didn’t have to testify because the judge “had already made up his mind.”

Giuliani’s spokesperson, Ted Goodman, released a statement. Freeman and Moss “might be happy to fight to take away Mayor Giuliani’s most cherished personal belongings, including his signed baseball jersey of his childhood hero and his grandfather’s pocket watch, but they can never take away his extraordinary record of public service,” Goodman said.

ARCATA, Calif.— The Bureau of Land Management will continue fuels reduction work in the King Range National Conservation Area to reduce the risk of wildfire and restore forest health. The work will begin in September and continue until February 2025. Work will occur along King Peak Road and the Paradise Royal Mountain Bike Trail.

Drivers could expect delays along King Peak Road and could encounter project work along trails.

“This project is aimed at improving fire resilience and forest health,” said King Range NCA Manager Paul Sever. “We are asking anyone visiting the area to be patient as this critical work is completed.”

On King Peak Road and connecting roads, crews will be cutting small trees and moving the material to a chipper on the roadway in a six-mile-long work area about two miles from the community of Shelter Cove. Along the Paradise Royale Mountain Bike Trail, crews will be cutting and piling material away from the trail along the entirety of the trail.

The project is part of an ongoing project funded by a Cal Fire forest health grant. More information is available from the King Range office in Whitethorn by calling 707-986-5400, or by contacting the BLM Arcata Field Office, 707-825-2300.

ALTURAS, Calif. – Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management Applegate Field Office will conduct prescribed burns to reduce hazardous fuels in northeast California and northwest Nevada beginning in early October. Projects will occur only when weather and fuel conditions allow for safe and successful burning.

“The prescribed burns will help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading. They will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire,” said Dereck Wilson, Northern California District Manager. “These burns will also help prevent wildfire damages to natural resources and communities within the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes are near public lands.” 

The first project, set for approximately Oct. 10, will be a broadcast burns on about 800 acres of BLM-managed public lands along the Hogback Ridge, south of Fall River Mills. Smoke will be visible throughout the Burney Basin, Big Valley, and to motorists on State Route 299.  

Additionally, prescribed pile burns will be implemented through the late fall, winter and spring, when adequate moisture is present. These projects will occur in Modoc County, northern Washoe County, northeastern Lassen County, and eastern Siskiyou County. Each project will be announced in advance. Northeast California prescribed pile burns are as follows:

• Modoc Gulch, 4 miles southeast of Dorris: 850 acres of piled juniper
• Vya, Nev. projects, 20 miles northeast of Fort Bidwell: 3,600 acres of piled juniper
• Twin Lakes, 18 miles southeast of Cedarville: 700 acres of piled juniper
• Rygrass Swale, 9 miles south of Alturas: 500 acres of piled juniper
• XL, 3 miles northeast of Alturas: 30 acres of piled juniper
• Dry Cow, 5 miles east of Madeline: 250 acres of piled juniper
• Nelson Corral, 6 miles northwest of Madeline: 50 acres of piled juniper

These piles of brush, tree limbs and small trees are from projects to reduce hazardous fuels that could feed wildfires.

THREE RIVERS, Calif. – The Bakersfield Field Office plans to conduct prescribed fire operations of up to 1,000 piles of downed hazard trees, branches and understory brush at Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area, southeast of Three Rivers, Tulare County, to prevent wildfire risk.

Pile burn operations will start as early as Wednesday, Nov. 29, and continue periodically until spring, depending on weather and air quality conditions, onsite observations and resource availability. Burning will take place only when weather and fuel moisture allow for safe and successful operations. The burn is being closely coordinated with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Smoke may be visible in Three Rivers.

“Partnerships are vital to managing sustainable, working public lands,” stated Bakersfield Field Manager Gabriel Garcia. “The prescribed burn is being done as part of a CalFire grant and a joint effort of the BLM, CAL FIRE, Tulare County Resource Conservation District, tribes, private landowners and technical experts.”

The prescribed burn is part of a multi-year fuels reduction effort in the Bureau’s only giant sequoia groves to strategically thin trees; remove ladder fuels, which can feed flames to the treetops; and remove needles, branches and brush on the forest floor. The prescribed fire will help increase protection of the wildland-urban interface for the town of Three Rivers in Tulare County and improve landscape health and remove hazardous fuels near giant sequoia trees that could feed wildland fire at the recreation area.

Case Mountain encompasses approximately 18,500 acres of BLM-managed public lands and supports many sensitive plants and animals, important riverbank ecosystems, areas of cultural significance, and a 400-acre Giant Sequoia Complex with six distinct giant sequoia groves. The BLM is committed to keeping public landscapes healthy and productive.

 

For more information, please contact the BLM Bakersfield Field Office at 661-391-6000, or visit the website.