By Dietrich Knauth

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge ended Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy on Friday, allowing defamation, sexual harassment and other claims against Donald Trump’s former lawyer to proceed.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in White Plains, New York also barred Giuliani from filing for bankruptcy for a year.

Giuliani, 80, filed for bankruptcy in December after a Washington, D.C., court ordered the former New York mayor to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers he falsely accused of vote-rigging in the 2020 presidential election. , which the Democrats won. Joe Biden.

The bankruptcy barred former Georgia poll worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman from collecting on that judgment, while freezing other lawsuits stemming from Giuliani’s work for Trump, the former Republican president, as he tried to reverse his loss in the 2020 election.

The dismissal allows Giuliani’s creditors to resume their lawsuits against him, but leaves Giuliani free to appeal the $148 million defamation judgment that forced him to seek bankruptcy protection.

Now that he is no longer in bankruptcy, Giuliani plans to appeal the ruling, his attorney Heath Berger said Friday after the ruling.

As detailed in a Reuters investigation, Moss and Freeman’s lives were upended by a barrage of threats following a December 2020 hearing by Georgia lawmakers where the Trump campaign falsely claimed surveillance video from a ballot processing room at State Farm Arena in Atlanta ” shocking” evidence of fraud.

Giuliani later showed clips of the video and repeatedly identified Moss and Freeman by name, calling them “crooks” who “obviously” stole votes.

An attorney for Moss and Freeman did not immediately return a request for comment.

In dismissing the bankruptcy case, Lane cited Giuliani’s “continued failure to meet reporting obligations and provide the financial transparency required of a debtor.”

Giuliani’s personal disclosures were late and incomplete, and Giuliani’s businesses never made financial disclosures in bankruptcy court.

Giuliani’s own bankruptcy attorneys appeared to be unaware that Giuliani was promoting a coffee brand until his creditors raised concerns about media reports, Lane wrote.

After seven months in Chapter 11, Giuliani had made no progress on a potential bankruptcy settlement with the people suing him, Lane wrote. Ending the bankruptcy made more sense than continuing to spend money on bankruptcy fees that would eventually reduce his ability to pay creditors, Lane said in Friday’s ruling.

Giuliani’s creditors alleged that he violated bankruptcy disclosure rules and continued to spend lavishly after filing for Chapter 11.

Giuliani paid wages to his girlfriend Maria Ryan and her daughter, failed to report income from his businesses and made defamatory statements that caused his WABC radio show to be canceled, creditors said.

In addition to Moss and Freeman, Giuliani’s creditors include former employee Noelle Dunphy, who has accused Giuliani of sexual assault and wage theft, and polling companies Dominion and Smartmatic, which have also sued Giuliani for defamation. Giuliani has denied the charges.

Giuliani separately faces criminal charges in Georgia and Arizona for allegedly aiding Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. Giuliani has pleaded not guilty and called the charges politically motivated.

The former Manhattan U.S. attorney was stripped of his New York law license earlier this month after a court found he “baselessly attacked and undermined the integrity of this country’s election process” by spreading false allegations of voter fraud.