Oughta be a law

Farcical fallout in $75M Amex tale

The ethically challenged lawyer who blew a proposed $75 million deal between American Express and major merchants has filed court papers indicating he wants to represent himself in court — against the advice of his own legal team.

Gary Friedman, who was the lead lawyer for merchants suing American Express, is accused of sharing confidential information via texts and emails with another lawyer, Keila Ravelo, who represented MasterCard in a similar case involving big retailers.

The exchanges landed Friedman and Ravelo — who are good friends — in hot water with a Brooklyn federal judge, who called their conduct “egregious” and cited it as the reason for scrapping the $75 million settlement last month.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis said Friedman’s communications with Ravelo included confidential information that could have jeopardized the fairness of the deal between Amex a group of retailers that want the right to charge consumers more for using its credit cards.

The decision also threatens to scuttle another settlement, a nearly $6 billion deal between Visa, MasterCard and many of those same merchants.

Friedman last week filed a motion of declaration that was sealed in Brooklyn federal court. His lawyers immediately filed their own motions recusing themselves “because of a fundamental disagreement as to strategy between Mr. Friedman and his counsel,” wrote Samuel Issacharoff, Friedman’s lawyer.

“Mr. Friedman has determined,” Issacharoff continued, “that he would like to address on his own any further issues relating to the various motions pending before this court.”

Other lawyers familiar with the case said it’s the first time Friedman has submitted a declaration or addressed the litigation since it was revealed that he and Ravelo had inappropriate communication.