Florida
Creditors Move to Force Giuliani to Insure his Florida Condo Until it's Sold to Pay Debts
Full-time Florida residents and snowbirds aren’t the only ones having trouble obtaining insurance on their condominiums. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York Mayor and longtime attorney for Donald Trump, has told a bankruptcy judge that he can’t afford to pay premiums on his Palm Beach condo.
That’s not good enough for some creditors who say Giuliani, facing a $148 million defamation judgment against him, should take immediate steps to protect the property until it can be sold. Creditors filed a motion last week, asking the judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Southern New York to force Giuliani to sell the condo and insure it in the meantime.
“The Debtor has chosen to avail himself of the protections of the Bankruptcy Code to obtain a breathing spell from his creditors, but in return he must exercise due care in protecting his assets and avoiding loss, since these are the assets that he, as a debtor in possession, is holding in trust for his creditors,” reads the motion by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.
“…The Committee respectfully requests that this Court compel the Debtor to take all necessary steps to sell the Florida Condo and obtain homeowners insurance in order to preserve and protect estate resources and abide by his duty to maximize the value of the estate for the benefit of his creditors,” the motion continues.
A hearing date of April 4 has been proposed to consider the motion.
The condo at South Lake Drive is valued at $3.5 million, according to Giuliani’s asset listing in bankruptcy court, although the local tax assessor says it’s more like $3 million, according to news reports. The creditors argue that the condo, less than mile from the Atlantic Ocean, is one of Giuliani’s most valuable assets. The Internal Revenue Service also had filed a lien on the property, seeking almost $550,000 in unpaid income taxes. The former Trump adviser has indicated he’s agreed to pay the taxes he owes, news outlets have reported.
Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December after he was hit with the $148 million verdict for defaming two Georgia election workers that he claimed had committed fraud during the counting of 2020 presidential election ballots. Now, he has said he has few assets available and cannot pay property insurance premiums on the Palm Beach spread.
The court filings did not indicate the level of premiums Giuliani could be facing on the property, or which insurers may have written the condo in previous years. But he’s far from alone in struggling with soaring insurance costs in the distressed Florida condo insurance market. Some insurance brokers and condo association representatives this year implored the Florida Legislature to allow the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to write condominiums that include short-term rental units. Many insurers have cut back drastically on HO-6 policy limits while premiums have more than quadrupled for some associations.
Allstate Insurance’s Florida unit, Castle Key Indemnity, recently raised condo rates almost 54% on average, in a use-and-file filing that regulators are still contemplating. At least one new carrier, part of HCI Group, has been approved to enter the condo market this year.
The Citizens-coverage-for-second-homes bill did not pass in the Florida legislative session that closed March 9. But under another measure, if signed by the governor, surplus lines insurers can soon make takeout offers on Citizens’ policies that cover second homes in Florida. It’s also possible that Giuliani could reduce his condo premiums if his association participates in a new wind-mitigation pilot program expected to be signed into law in the next few weeks.
By law, Giuliani’s creditors may be unable to force him to sell his primary residence in New York, although that space also needs insurance coverage, creditors said. But the committee of creditors has argued that his Florida condo is used less than 30% of the time, making it a non-primary residence and fair game to be sold (but insured in the meantime).
Giuliani may have little choice in coming weeks. The U.S. bankruptcy code and guidelines require that the debtor “maintain appropriate insurance coverage” equal to the fair-market value of the condo. Otherwise, the court must convert the property or dismiss the Chapter 11 filing, the creditors argued in their motion.
“As property of the estate, the value of the Florida Condo ultimately will be distributed to the Debtor’s creditors,” the filing notes. “As a result, it is merely a matter of when, not if, the Debtor will have to sell the Florida Condo in order to distribute the proceeds thereof to creditors in satisfaction of their claims.”
Besides taxes, Giuliani owes millions to his attorneys, accountants, plaintiffs in lawsuits against him, including voting machine companies that he allegedly defamed, and others, court documents show.
Photo: Giuliani’s condo building in Palm Beach (Google Streetview)
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Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse awoke at 6:30 a.m. He declined a last meal and has remained compliant throughout the day, corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference. Kearse met with a spiritual adviser during the day but had no other visitors.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Kearse’s final appeals Tuesday afternoon without comment.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
Final appeals were pending Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
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