Easterm District Judge Nicholas Garaufis has ordered attorneys to file redacted court documents in an antitrust case against American Express, after a law professor who is not a party to the litigation sought to unseal the documents or intervene.

The professor, Myriam Gilles of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, is also the wife of Gary Friedman, the plaintiffs attorney whom Garaufis removed as class counsel in an Aug. 4 decision. Garaufis found Friedman had engaged in “egregious” conduct by secretly communicating with a defense attorney in a similar case and sharing confidential documents that were subject to a protective order, leading the judge to reject a settlement between merchants and American Express that would have awarded up to $75 million in attorneys fees to class counsel.

Myriam Gilles, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law