On Friday, a federal jury found that “former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is liable in damages in the total amount of $148 million to two former Georgia election workers.” The cause of action against Giuliani by the Georgia election workers were allegations that Giuliani made “baseless claims” against them that amounted to defamation regarding the 2020 presidential election.
A summary of the origins of the litigation discloses that “Giuliani was sued for defamation by Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ArShaye ‘Shaye’ Moss, her daughter, for falsely claiming they engaged in a fake ballot processing scheme while they served as election workers for Fulton County in the last presidential election.”
As reported, the eight-person Washington, D.C. jury deliberated for approximately “10 hours across Thursday and Friday before reaching a decision.” Jurors heard four days of what has been reported to have been “emotional testimony in the civil trial against Giuliani.” Giuliani served as former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer toward the end of his presidency.
The federal trial judge in Washington determined earlier this year that Giuliani was liable for defaming Freeman and Moss. After the determination of liability, the jury was tasked with determining how much in compensatory and punitive damages to award the mother-and-daughter pair. Compensatory damages are intended to compensate a person for the actual value of the damage and distress endured. Punitive damages are intended to punish the person causing the harm. “Freeman sought compensatory damages of $23.9 million, while Moss was asking for $24.7 million for defamation and an unspecified amount for other damages.”
