The latest step in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice will be a public auction of their belongings in August of this year.
Giudice and her husband Joe filed in for Chapter 7 back in October of 2009, but the case only recently became public.
In most Chapter 7 cases there is no sale or auction of property. With multi-million dollar homes and a role on a hit reality TV show, the Giudices case is far from typical.
People magazine took a look at some of the items up for auction. Most are from their million-dollar home in Towaco, New Jersey. Items for sale fromt he Giudices include:
- Grand piano
- Wolf brand steel cooking range
- Faux marble chess set
- Suit of armor
- Jet ski
- Snow plow
- Foosball table
Teresa said through a representative that there would not be an auction. Her lawyer, Jim Kridel, however, confirmed that there would be, though he also said that he would be appealing the decision to hold the auction.
“Obviously,” Kridel said, “we have objections to what they’re trying to do.” He continued to say that many of the items up for auction were bought after the bankruptcy filing with money that they had earned after the filing. They would not, therefore, be included in a Chapter 7 auction.
“I don’t think Teresa is happy seeing all her belongings displayed on the Internet,” Kridel continued. “Clearly they are under the microscope because they are famous.”
It is his opinion that the case should have been resolved in court before things moved into the public sphere as they did.
Contention over the auction items stems from complications addressed by the bankruptcy trustee in the case.
Recently, the bankruptcy trustee in the Giudice case alleged that Teresa and her husband had concealed financial records, according to People magazine. John Sywilok, the trustee, claimed that they had not listed profits from some of their business, including Teresa’s clothing line TG Fabulicious, a pizza joint and a cookbook. Joe claimed that the cookbook was written before the bankruptcy filing.
The couple were also accused of undervaluing some of their property, including a pool table, wedding rings and furniture.
At the time, the Giudices were hoping to avoid the public auction that has finally been ordered. Kridel said the contract for and proceeds from Teresa’s cookbook were signed and received after the bankruptcy petition.
Kridel also argued that used belongings don’t have the sticker value that they did when they were new. “The real issue in bankruptcy is, what’s the value of everything? And at the time of the bankruptcy, these things didn’t have any value.”
At the time that news of her bankruptcy went public, Giudice said, “What is true is that due to the economy, most of my husband’s real estate ventures failed despite his hard work and effort. As a result, we looked to the bankruptcy court for a ‘fresh start.’ ”
They listed their assets at around $2.2 million, and their liabilities at about $8.7 million.
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Tags: Bankruptcy, New Jersey, Teresa Giudice