"Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice has paid off or is in the process of paying off the vast bulk of her creditors, her lawyers told a federal judge yesterday in an attempt to block the reopening of the bankruptcy case that helped land her in prison for a year for fraud, NJ.com reported. But Bankruptcy Judge Stacey L. Meisel ruled against Giudice and reopened the proceedings. Judge Meisel's decision may allow the reality star's unsatisfied creditors to collect potential proceeds from a lawsuit she filed against her bankruptcy attorney James Kridel. Giudice was not at the hearing. Giudice's lawyer Carlos Cuevas told Judge Meisel that Giudice now has a payment plan in place with the Internal Revenue Service, which filed a $551,563 tax lien against her last year, and that she has paid or has agreements to pay 27 of the 29 creditors listed in her 2009 bankruptcy filing. Judge Meisel's ruling did not address whether or not her creditors are entitled to all or any portion of an award should Giudice win the malpractice case.
