Former U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York.

Former Manhattan federal judge Katherine B. Forrest returned to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday to represent the Boston Red Sox in a proposed class action accusing the professional baseball club, Major League Baseball and the Houston Astros of compromising the fairness of fantasy baseball competitions with a sign-stealing scandal that has roiled the league.

Forrest, who served as a Manhattan federal court judge from 2011 to 2018, entered her appearance in the case before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York at the end of January. In court Friday morning, she introduced herself from the defense table and received a warm welcome from the judge, who responded playfully, "what was that name again?"

Forrest is a litigation partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in Manhattan.

The parties were in court for an initial conference in the case, which alleges causes of action for unfair and deceptive practices in violation of various state consumer protection statutes, negligence and unjust enrichment.

The 52-page complaint, filed Jan. 23, specifically accuses the MLB of promoting fantasy baseball wagering games through daily sports betting company DraftKings Inc. that it knew were "corrupt and dishonest." The plaintiff, Kristopher Olsen, said that he and other DraftKings bettors would not "have wagered on fantasy baseball contests if they had known that the players' performance statistics on which their wagers were based were not honest."

An MLB investigation found that the Astros had improperly used an outfield camera system to steal signs from opposing teams' pitchers in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The league fined the team $5 million, banned its manager and general manager for one year, and stripped the club of its first- and second-round draft picks for the next two seasons. A disciplinary decision with regard to the Red Sox is still pending.

David Golub, who is representing Olsen, said Friday that he expected to file an amended complaint adding two more plaintiffs in California and Texas by the Feb. 14 deadline.

Golub also expressed concern that the court planned to address motions for class certification and summary judgment at the same time, citing the "potential need" for expert witnesses in regard to class certification. Rakoff said he was sympathetic to the issue but wanted to move the case along toward trial.

"I do try to run all my cases efficiently," said Rakoff, adding that he had learned his case management approach from his former colleague, Forrest.

Rakoff also talked at length about "inexpensive, inordinate" delays, which he described as a stain on the U.S. civil justice system.

"We should be hanging our heads in shame," he said from the bench.

Rakoff said he hoped for the case to proceed to trial by August or September, and scheduled oral arguments for 9 a.m. March 20.

"I assume you'll have the coffee ready," he said to his clerk.

A state appeals court on Thursday struck down the bulk of a 2016 law that allowed interactive fantasy sports contest operators like DraftKings and FanDuel to operate in New York. The split ruling, from the Appellate Division, Third Department, appeared to put the companies in danger of being ousted from New York, although an appeal of the decision may be upcoming.

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