Rudy Giuliani will keep Palm Beach condo after settlement with Georgia election workers

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be able to keep his Palm Beach condominium under the terms of a settlement reached this week with two Georgia election workers.

The women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, sued Giuliani and won a $148 million judgment in 2023 after he falsely said the pair stuffed ballot boxes during the 2020 election, when Giuliani was acting as an attorney for President-elect Donald Trump in the months following his campaign loss. In a suit filed in federal court, Freeman and Moss have been trying to collect on that judgment.

Freeman and Moss on Thursday reached a settlement agreement with Giuliani that allows the Trump confidant to keep his Palm Beach condo and all of his possessions, while preventing the case from moving to what could have been a lengthy and costly trial while also earning Freeman and Moss a promise from Giuliani that he will not defame them.

A trial was slated to begin Thursday in U.S. District Court in New York City before Judge Lewis Liman to decide the fate of Giuliani's Palm Beach condo. Giuliani had been scheduled to appear as the first witness, but his seat remained empty as it seemed attorneys for all of the parties in the case worked to file a motion about the agreement.

A dollar amount was not included in the motion that was filed on Thursday by Aaron Nathan, attorney for Freeman and Moss; Joseph Cammarata, Giuliani's attorney; and Scott McBridge, attorney for Giuliani's son Andrew, who sought to preserve some of his father's possessions that he said had been given to him.

In the filing, the attorneys asked Liman to adjourn a pair of scheduled hearings in the case as the parties worked to meet the terms of the agreement, and the attorneys told Liman that once all conditions of the agreement are met, it "would result in the conclusion of all litigation currently pending."

In a statement posted on social media, Giuliani announced the agreement and said that it does not include "an admission of liability or wrongdoing" by anyone involved in the suit.

"I am satisfied with and have no grievances relating to the result we have reached," Giuliani wrote. "I have been able to retain my New York coop and Florida Condominium and all of my personal belongings. No one deserves to be subjected to threats, harassment, or intimidation. This litigation has taken its toll on all parties. This whole episode was unfortunate. I and the Plaintiffs have agreed not to ever talk about each other in any defamatory manner, and I urge others to do the same.”

In a statement provided to CBS News, Freeman and Moss called the past four years "a living nightmare."

"We have fought to clear our names, restore our reputations, and prove that we did nothing wrong," they said. "Today is a major milestone in our journey. We have reached an agreement and we can now move forward with our lives. We have agreed to allow Mr. Giuliani to retain his property in exchange for compensation and his promise not to ever defame us."

Freeman and Moss sought to receive Giuliani's Palm Beach condo, New York apartment and other possessions, including watches and an antique Mercedes Benz, to satisfy the 2023 judgment.

Giuliani bought the unit in the Southlake building in Palm Beach in February 2010 with his then-wife Judith Nathan Giuliani for a recorded $1.41 million. The apartment was last marketed for sale in 2019, before the Giulianis' bitter divorce, with an asking price of $3.3 million. But a buyer never emerged, and Giuliani took sole possession of the condo as part of the couple's divorce settlement.

According to court records, the condo is valued at $3.5 million. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office website placed its value at $2.67 million in 2022, $3.07 million in 2023 and $3.5 million last year.

Giuliani on July 15, 2024, filed a declaration of domicile in Palm Beach County to declare the Palm Beach condo his permanent residence, and his attorney at the time, Kenneth Caruso, argued in a court filing that the condo was protected by Florida law that says a homestead should be presumed.

But how much time Giuliani actually spent there was called into question by attorneys for Freeman and Moss, who argued that Giuliani actually spent most of his time in other places including New Hampshire.

Giuliani cast his first ballot in Palm Beach County on Oct. 31, when he voted at the Gaines Park Community Center in West Palm Beach during early voting for the general election.

In recent weeks, Giuliani had been found in contempt of court twice: by Liman, after Giuliani failed to turn over information about his assets as required by a court order; and also by a judge in Washington, D.C., who found that Giuliani continued to defame Freeman and Moss.

Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Subscribe today to support our journalism.