No separate trial for former JPMorgan executive in Epstein case
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The decision is a defeat for Mr Jes Staley, who said the trial left him too little time to defend against JPMorgan’s accusations.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK - A United States judge rejected requests to sever JPMorgan Chase & Co’s lawsuit accusing former executive Jes Staley of concealing what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein from two related lawsuits over the bank’s work for the late sex offender.
Monday’s decision by US District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan is a defeat for Mr Staley, who said the scheduled Oct 23 trial for all three cases left him too little time to defend against JPMorgan’s “slanderous” accusations.
It is also a defeat for the women who claim that Epstein sexually abused them and are suing the largest US bank.
They claimed that JPMorgan sued Mr Staley as a means to “harass and intimidate” them
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013.
The US Virgin Islands, where the financier had a home, is also suing JPMorgan.
In a separate decision, Judge Rakoff rejected JPMorgan’s request to block the US Virgin Islands from expanding its lawsuit by adding an obstruction charge and a claim that bank executives joked about Epstein’s interest in young girls.
Mr Staley, 66, is a former JPMorgan private banking chief who later spent six years as Barclays’ chief executive before resigning in November 2021.
In rejecting a separate trial for JPMorgan’s lawsuit against Mr Staley, Judge Rakoff called Mr Staley a “prominent focus” of all three cases, and noted how his Washington law firm Williams & Connolly calls itself one of the world’s “premier” litigation firms.
“None of Staley’s whines remotely warrants either a severance or a change in the joint trial date,” Mr Rakoff wrote.
The judge also said Epstein’s accusers “cannot have been blind” to their need to disclose sensitive information.
Mr Brendan Sullivan, a lawyer for Mr Staley, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr Brad Edwards, a lawyer for the accusers, said in an e-mail: “The decision is in accord with the law. The survivors we represent are strong and will not cower to bullying by banks, so we will continue to prove what is a very strong case.”
JPMorgan declined to comment on the judge’s decisions.
In a Monday night court filing, the New York-based bank denied substantive claims it faces and said it had no knowledge that force, threats of force, fraud or coercion would be used to further Epstein’s abuses.
The US Virgin Islands is seeking unspecified damages, while Epstein’s accusers are seeking potentially billions of dollars in damages.
JPMorgan sued Mr Staley in March to have him cover its losses in both lawsuits and forfeit eight years of compensation.
Mr Staley has expressed regret for his friendly relationship with Epstein and denied knowing about his alleged crimes.
He has also been accused of swapping sexually suggestive messages with Epstein about young women and committing sexual assault himself.
Epstein killed himself at age 66 in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. REUTERS
