Left: Rudy Giuliani talks to reporters before the Republican National Convention, on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee (AP Photo/Paul Sancya). Right: Judge Arthur Engoron presides over former President Donald Trump”s civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in New York (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP).
After Rudy Giuliani was sued by his own lawyer and that attorney’s former firm for more than $1.3 million in unpaid legal bills, the judge who once presided over President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial has handed the former New York City mayor a huge loss, rejecting the former New York mayor’s claims of ignorance about the tab and who was owed the money.
New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Tuesday issued summary judgment in favor of Robert Costello in a four-page ruling that used Giuliani’s checks, a text message, and emails against him in concluding that he was aware of what Costello and Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP (DHC) were charging for legal services.
In November 2019, Giuliani hired Costello, then a partner at DHC, as his lawyer, as evidenced by a signed agreement for his services and public reporting from that time, when Giuliani was under scrutiny of the office he used to lead: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Court documents show that Costello’s work for Giuliani continued well into 2023 and involved “all civil cases and criminal investigations,” including the SDNY probe, the Georgia RICO case, Â Jan. 6 matters, and disciplinary proceedings that ended with Giuliani’s disbarment twice over.
But in 2023, Costello and the firm sued, claiming that Giuliani owed more than $1.3 million in legal fees.
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“This action simply seeks payment of an outstanding bill for legal services rendered by Plaintiffs in the amount of $1,360,196.10,” the complaint explained, with only “$214,000 of the total bill” paid. The filing said that Giuliani “never raised any objection regarding the correctness of the invoices, the amount billed or that they were issued by DHC” from 2019 to 2023.
At the time, Giuliani said Costello and DHC’s suit “personally hurt” him, and that the bill was clearly excessive.
“It’s a real shame when lawyers do things like this, and all I will say is that their bill is way in excess to anything approaching legitimate fees,” Giuliani said previously.
On Tuesday, Engoron noted that Giuliani attempted to make the case that when he signed an agreement to have Costello represent him that agreement made no mention of DHC and, in any event, he “did not receive any bills or invoices on a monthly basis[.]” The judge, who memorably issued a massive civil fraud judgment against Trump only to be overturned last month as to the amount, just as quickly pointed out that Costello sent Giuliani a text message in 2023 specifying how much he owed DHC and that Giuliani “merely replied” with “Any news?” rather than “claiming that he did not receive bills or questioning the amount[.]”
A court exhibit shows Robert Costello’s 2023 texts to Rudy Giuliani about legal bills.
Even “more tellingly,” Engoron continued, checks Giuliani cut “reference[d] his DHC file number” and an “invoice number.”
In the end, Engoron, misspelling Giuliani’s first name as “Rudolf,” sided with the law firm and Costello.
“The motion for summary judgment is granted to the extent that the clerk is hereby directed to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff Davidoff, Hutcher & Citron and against defendant, Rudolf W. Giuliani, in the amount of $1,360,190.10, plus interest from October 18, 2023 (one month after plaintiffs commenced suit) on plaintiffs’ account state claim, and summary judgment on DHC’s claim for legal fees for making the instant motion,” the judge concluded.
Reacting to the ruling on Giuliani’s behalf, Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman asserted the decision was clearly political, considering the judge behind it.
“The idea that Judge Arthur Engoron is permitted to sit on a case involving President Donald Trump’s good friend and former personal lawyer, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, flies in the face of justice and demonstrates the partisan political nature of this decision,” Goodman reportedly said.
