(Picture by Drew Angerer/Getty Pictures)
Rudy Giuliani is operating via the tape in 2024, and so is his badabing-badabang lawyer Joe Cammarata. Though solely one among them is within the operating for ATL’s 2024 Lawyer Of The Yr. There’s all the time 2025, Joe!
The pair are presently bumstumbling via two contempt motions in entrance of Choose Lewis Liman within the assortment motion introduced by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. One entails Rudy’s failure to adjust to discovery, for which the plaintiffs want to bar him presenting proof that he lives in Florida and is thus entitled to say that state’s limitless homestead exemption. (Giuliani seems to have declared himself a Florida resident in July, simply earlier than he bought himself booted out of chapter, permitting the plaintiffs to renew assortment efforts. Handy!)
The opposite subject entails Giuliani’s refusal to adjust to Choose Liman’s turnover orders, regardless of sturdy indicators from the courtroom that one thing very disagreeable would occur if he didn’t. Rudy and his attorneys have primarily thrown up their arms in dumbfounded astonishment when instructed that they wanted to ship not simply the automobile however the title as properly. Who knew that handing over the keys to the condo, however not the deed (which continues to be in joint tenancy along with his ex-wife, a number of years after the divorce) wouldn’t get him full credit score?
However Cammarata, whose follow consists largely of divorce instances, has give you ONE WEIRD TRICK to make all that unpleasantness go away. What if nothing counts as a result of Freeman and Moss forgot to say the magic phrases first?
It seems that in response to the Court docket docket, Plaintiffs because the Court docket appointed receivers did not adjust to CPLR § 6402, and by no means filed an “Oath” with the Court docket as required by CPLR § 6402 earlier than coming into their duties to behave as receivers. Therefore, the receivership has not but technically or legally begun. The New York Civil Observe Legislation and Guidelines applies to the Judgment being enforced herein. The Oath was required to be signed by Plaintiff Ruby Freeman and Plaintiff Wandrea’ Moss because the receivers and an oath should have been administered by any particular person licensed to take acknowledgment of deeds by the true property regulation of New York State, after which filed with the Court docket earlier than the Plaintiffs undertook the duties as Receivers.
Checkmate, libs!
Or … not.
Certainly, NY CPLR § 6402 does require momentary receivers to take an oath. However there’s no requirement that such an oath be docketed with the courtroom. Of their reply, Freeman and Moss’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb, a litigation associate at Willkie Farr (together with 5 different attorneys), connected mentioned oaths, signed three days after the courtroom’s receivership order, noting that “there isn’t a requirement that the oaths be filed—however even when there have been, now that the oaths have been filed, any advantage in Mr. Giuliani’s argument can be moot.”
Gottlieb et al additionally documented Rudy’s ongoing shenanigans relating to his sports activities memorabilia,
With respect to the signed Joe DiMaggio shirt, Mr. Giuliani now claims there “isn’t any Signed Joe DiMaggio shirt that I possess” and that “the Signed Joe DiMaggio shirt was hanging within the New York Cooperative condo on the time the condo was turned over.” Mr. Giuliani’s declare to have abruptly misplaced observe of the signed Joe DiMaggio jersey is just not credible for a number of impartial causes. First, Mr. Giuliani’s former counsel represented to the Court docket on the November 7 Listening to that the signed Joe DiMaggio shirt was situated on the CTS facility in Ronkonkoma. Second, the signed Joe DiMaggio shirt was not current on the New York Residence when counsel for PlaintiffsReceivers visited on October 31, 2024, as evidenced by evaluating the photograph of the true property itemizing of the room the place the framed, signed Joe DiMaggio jersey was hanging with the one Plaintiffs’ counsel submitted from the October go to. Third, one among Mr. Giuliani’s trial witnesses and oldest mates, Monsignor Alan Placa—who Mr. Giuliani just lately testified can be a reputable and reliable witness testified below oath throughout his latest deposition that he had not traveled to New York in seven years however that he had personally seen the framed, signed Joe DiMaggio shirt throughout the final two years, and particularly “on the condo – really, it was right here in Florida” on the Palm Seashore Condominium. Equally, Mr. Giuliani’s declare that there “was no Reggie Jackson image” is belied by his personal Chapter Schedule, and his former counsel’s illustration to this Court docket that the signed Reggie Jackson was current on the CTS facility in Ronkonkoma. And even when Mr. Giuliani’s claims about both signed sports activities memorabilia had any indicia of credibility, he fails to explain any efforts he has made to find them, as he should to keep away from contempt.
Placa is a former priest who retired below attention-grabbing circumstances which have been all the time going to make him a … problematic witness. In a deposition he testified variously that he: was a lawyer; understood his position as deponent; stored calendar entries of Rudy’s journey to Florida; and but failed to supply them as a result of “I learn via [the subpoena] shortly and didn’t really feel that I had something that was responsive in any respect.” He additionally insisted that he had no thought how a LinkedIn profile exhibiting him as senior VP at Giuliani Companions got here to be, since he by no means drew a wage or went into the workplace quite a lot of instances. Though he did admit that six FEC disclosures within the identify of Alan Placa, VP at Giuliani Companions got here from him.
Rudy’s deposition went equally swimmingly. Requested why he did not renew his drivers license, he mentioned “I’ve fatwas issued in opposition to me by the Ayatollah, personally.”
He refused to reveal his e-mail handle as a result of:
Ninety-nine p.c of it accommodates issues that don’t have anything to do with this case and a variety of them are privileged. Lots of them are private and it will appear to me that it constitutes overbroad discovery, prying into issues — utilizing this litigation for the aim of prying into issues which can be frankly none of your enterprise, which were utilized previously for leaking, for giving data to different folks, so I don’t give my e-mail out typically anyway. I give it out to those who I imagine will use it for a correct objective.
Cammarata instructed him to not reply, as a result of “I imagine we’ve a protecting order with that data.” (Nope.)
Additionally, it doesn’t appear to have occurred to them that discussing his testimony over lunch may waive the privilege to mentioned dialog.
“Any discussions I had through the break with my lawyer and past what I mentioned, which I in all probability shouldn’t have mentioned in any respect, is privileged,” he shouted, after admitting that he had, certainly, talked in regards to the deposition along with his lawyer. “However the reply is I cannot reply questions on what I speak to my lawyer about. I feel I’m entitled to that privilege as an American citizen.”
TL, DR: Giuliani is an superb witness, who will definitely have the self-discipline to not, say, invoke the recommendation of counsel protection and waive privilege about why his prior attorneys ran for the hills. Or lie on the stand. Or assert non-existent privileges in defiance of the courtroom’s prior order. Or shout on the decide.
Freeman v. Giuliani [Docket via Court Listener]
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore the place she produces the Legislation and Chaos substack and podcast.
