DURHAM - A lawyer for one of the three exonerated Duke lacrosse players says they do not plan to let fallen prosecutor Mike Nifong hide in bankruptcy court.

David Rudolf, one of the lawyers representing Reade Seligmann, said they plan to challenge Nifong's move to protect his assets by pushing forward with claims that the former Durham district attorney "willfully and maliciously injured" the players who spent nearly a year battling phony gang-rape allegations.

Nifong filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in federal court Tuesday, the deadline for responding to the civil lawsuit brought by Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans.

Filing the petition automatically puts on hold any civil actions against Nifong, bankruptcy lawyers say. But bankruptcy rules would not protect him from financial claims if a judge finds that he "willfully and maliciously" injured the players in what was described by the state attorney general as a "rogue" prosecution.

Nifong, who was stripped of his law license and his career for pushing ahead with a case that was flawed from the start, listed assets of $243,898 in his bankruptcy petition and potential debts of $180.3 million -- $30 million each to Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann, and $30 million each to three other players who were not charged but filed civil claims late last year.

O. Max Gardner III, a bankruptcy lawyer in Shelby and grandson and namesake of the former governor, said it's not clear whether the bankruptcy petition would protect the disbarred district attorney from the civil claims against him.

The exonerated players allege that Nifong, the city of Durham, the DNA laboratory hired by the Nifong and others associated with the case conspired to falsely charge the former Duke students with rape. The charges stemmed from a team party in March 2006.

The suit contends that Nifong, Durham police and others conspired to charge the players even though they knew that allegations were "a total fabrication."

Gardner said Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection is generally sought by people with less income than Nifong. It was uncertain, Gardner said, "whether he's going to qualify based on the monthly income he and his wife report and what the court's going to do about these claims of willful and malicious injury."

In his petition, Nifong listed the monthly income for him and his wife as $9,209.96 -- he makes $4,957.48 in pension and retirement income, and she makes $4,252.48.

If the bankruptcy protection is granted, his house would be protected, and, according to bankruptcy lawyers, it would be difficult to collect on property he owns jointly with his wife since she is not a party to the suit.

The court would appoint a trustee to liquidate Nifong's assets and then decide which creditors had access to the money.

"What this does, even if you're not Mike Nifong, is, if you've got a situation where seven, eight or 10 creditors are suing you, most people do not have the financial means to pay a lawyer to represent them in seven, eight or nine cases," Gardner said. "So this consolidates it all in one court."

The bankruptcy move might put the players' lawsuit on hold for several weeks, but Rudolf, who represents Seligmann, said he did not expect it to disrupt the proceedings against the city of Durham, the police officers listed, the private lab or any others facing the allegations.

"Mike Nifong is not the be-all, end-all of our case," he said.