JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged a court to reject a request by a victim of Jeffrey Epstein to let her represent more than 100 other women in a lawsuit alleging that the bank facilitated their abuse by the late financier.
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged a court to reject a request by a victim of Jeffrey Epstein to let her represent more than 100 other women in a lawsuit alleging that the bank facilitated their abuse by the late financier.
Epstein Victim Suing JPMorgan Seeks Class-Action Status
The bank argued in a court filing Friday that the suit doesn’t fit the legal requirements to proceed as a class-action, in part, because the abuse alleged by the victims varies widely, from one-time sexual assaults to sex trafficking.
The anonymous woman who filed the suit as “Jane Doe” claims the bank negligently served as the late financier’s banker even though it knew of his abuse of young women and girls.
Epstein’s abuse was “monstrous,” the bank’s lawyers wrote. But “the immense complexity of dozens of victims’ experiences over two decades across countries and continents” makes it impossible to bundle their cases together in a class action, they said.
“When and how was each victim abused?” the JPMorgan attorneys said. “What did JPMC know at the time of the abuse? What nexus was there between JPMC’s banking services and the abuse?“
Companies typically try to block lawsuits from winning class-action status, which allows plaintiffs to pool resources and exert greater leverage in settlement negotiations.
(Updates with bank’s arguments.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.