Protesters hold placards during a rally for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein in New York City Protesters hold placards during a rally for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein in New York City Protesters hold placards during a rally for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein in New York City JPMorgan Chase has asked a federal judge to reject a class-action status sought by over 100 women who have accused the bank of enabling the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse them. In a recent filing at a Manhattan federal court, JPMorgan Chase argued that Epstein's accusers are too diverse to sue under an "oversimplified" theory that holds the bank liable for having provided Epstein with banking services.
The largest US bank noted that Epstein's conduct varied from victim to victim and across time and that the bank's knowledge and provision of banking services likewise varied. They emphasised that the question before the court is whether to certify a class in the lawsuit, not whether Epstein's behaviour was monstrous.
The bank asserted that a class-action status should not be granted as allowing one "skips over" the significant differences in Epstein's conduct towards each victim and the varying degree of knowledge the bank had at the time. Lawyers for the accusers have not yet responded to the bank's request for comment.
Class-action lawsuits allow a group of plaintiffs to sue together, potentially resulting in larger recoveries at lower costs compared to individual lawsuits. In the case involving JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, Epstein was a client of JPMorgan from 1998 to 2013 and of Deutsche Bank from 2013 to 2018. The banks face separate proposed class actions from Epstein's accusers who have called the banks "Epstein's secret weapon" in making his years of sexual abuse and trafficking possible.
The cases against both banks are scheduled for trial later this year. The banks have denied any wrongdoing. Epstein died in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, which New York City's medical examiner deemed as suicide. The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, are Jane Doe 1 v Deutsche Bank AG et al, No. 22-10018, and Jane Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, No. 22-10019.