FOX Business Network has won a legal victory to force the release of documents related to New York University’s lawsuit against Bernard Madoff feeder Ezra Merkin.
The court’s ruling forces parties in the case to release all the depositions in the case, which had been filed under seal. It also prevents the automatic sealing of documents in the case in the future.
The parties have 10 to14 days to unseal the documents or show cause why they should remain under seal. The judge said that argument faces an “uphill battle.”
Madoff pleaded guilty on Thursday to 11 felony counts for orchestrating a multidecade Ponzi scheme on the order of $50 billion. He’s likely to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Ezra Merkin, who until recently was the nonexecutive chairman of GMACand has been a longtime fixture in the Jewish charity scene, funneled money to Madoff. NYU sued Merkin, alleging that Merkin turned over his investment responsibilities to Madoff.
Merkin, his Gabriel Capital LP fund and Ariel Fund Ltd. are named in the lawsuit.
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