Rudy Guiliani has surrendered dozens of his luxury watches and a Mercedes as payment for his $148 million defamation judgment involving two former Georgia election workers.
According to a letter filed by Guiliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, the watches and the 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500—which was once owned by actress Lauren Bacall—were delivered by FedEx to a bank in Atlanta, Georgia.
Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and long-time ally of President-elect Donald Trump, was ordered to surrender his apartment and other belongings in order to pay millions of dollars in damages to Rudy Freeman and Shaye Moss. The mother and daughter sued Guiliani for defamation after he pushed baseless claims of voter fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign.
Guiliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, argued in his letter on Friday that some of Guiliani’s possessions should be exempted from the defamation judge, including apparel, furniture and other household items.
Cammarata also argued that it was “wholly improper” of the court to force Guiliani to surrender his Mercedes, arguing that the car should have been appraised first to determine its worth. Cammarata argued that if the vehicle is valued under $5,500, then it should be exempt from the judgment. It’s unclear what the car would be valued at, but Classic.com shows that over the past five years, Mercedes-Benz SL 500s made from 1980-1989 were sold from $9,500 to $201,000, with an average of $29,000.
Cammarata said that had the appraisal shown the value to be more than $5,500, it should have been auctioned off and funds paid out accordingly.
“This is how the proper enforcement of these assets should work,” Cammarata wrote in a letter Friday. “Just ordering the vehicle to be turned over to the Plaintiffs without any appraisal has taken away Defendant’s statutory and constitutional rights.”
The letter also goes on to argue that some of Giuliani’s other possessions should also be exempt from the judgment under New York and Florida law, including apparel—even a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio that’s part of the judgment— and all household furniture including a refrigerator, radio receiver, television set, computer, cellphone, tableware and cooking utensils, the letter stated.
As far as the watches Giuliani turned over, Cammarata said there are legal exemptions for jewelry with a value under $1,325—meaning his watches and ring he turned over should also get appraised.
Additionally, Cammarata said there are exemptions for “tools of trade,” including “professional instruments, furniture and library” items that don’t exceed $4,075 in value.
On Thursday, Giuliani’s spokesperson Ted Goodman shared a video of the watches and ring that Giuliani turned over to the courts, saying the lot was an “accumulation of 60 years of hard work”.
Giuliani claims he’s a victim of a “political vendetta” and said he expects to win back his belongings via an appeal.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
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Update 11/15/24 9:09 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.