Rudy Giuliani sued by former attorney for $1.4M in unpaid bills

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Rudy Giuliani faces a nearly $1.4 million lawsuit from a lawyer who has represented him in various legal matters over unpaid bills.

Robert Costello and the firm Hutcher & Citron LLP said Giuliani, the ex-attorney to former President Donald Trump, owes them for their involvement in more than 10 lawsuits filed against him in numerous state and federal courts, along with his law license disciplinary proceedings.

The suit states Giuliani has paid back $214,000 of $1,574,196 in legal fees stemming from a range of high-profile cases since 2019 including the House Jan. 6 committee investigation and the Fulton County, Ga. presidential election case.

"I can't express how personally hurt I am by what Bob Costello has done," Giuliani said in response to the lawsuit.. "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."

Costello fired back, telling CBS News that Giuliani never complained about the cost of the bills until the lawsuit and he never paid.

"He only said they were excessive when we told him we would sue," Costello said. "It's too late for that frivolous claim as he will find out in court. I'm sorry he took the low road here because he is feeling desperate."

Giuliani faces a blizzard of legal actions stemming from the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath when Trump and his supporters crisscrossed the country trying to overturn state election results where Biden won.

Trump hosted a fundraiser earlier in September for Giuliani's defense fund at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

A disciplinary board for the D.C. Bar Association recommended in July that Giuliani be stripped of his law license for "malicious and meritless claims" to undermine the 2020 election.