was suggested $290 million settlement There will be no minimum or maximum payout for each individual in the lawsuit between JPMorgan Chase and Jeffrey Epstein sexual abuse victims, according to a plan filed in federal court on Thursday, and the decision will oversee the process. entrusted to a claims manager appointed to
If approved by a federal judge, the proposed deal with JPMorgan would be settled. class action lawsuit The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court in November against the nation’s largest bank on behalf of a woman who claims she was sexually abused by Mr. Epstein as a teenager or young woman. The decision to entrust the amount of each payment to an administrator would give that person greater authority over a settlement fund covering Epstein’s abuses from 1998 to 2019.
More than 200 women may be eligible to apply for the Reconciliation Fund, judging by the number of claims filed with different groups Victim Compensation Fund Founded by Epstein’s legacy. The foundation created a reparation fund shortly after Epstein’s suicide in August 2019 while he was awaiting trial in a Manhattan prison on sex trafficking charges.
According to court filings, the proposed settlement with JP Morgan did not bar women who received payments from the foundation’s compensation fund from receiving additional recoveries under their contract with JP Morgan. The bank served as Mr. Epstein’s primary financial institution for about 15 years before finally dissolving the relationship in 2013.
Suing Wall Street giants that do business with Epstein has proven a successful strategy to gain additional financial relief for Epstein’s victims. This litigation strategy also generates significant fees for lawyers filing lawsuits.
The same group of lawyers who sued JP Morgan recently negotiated: Provisional $75 million A settlement with Deutsche Bank, which became Epstein’s main banker after JP Morgan fired him. The draft agreement with Germany specifically states that eligible victims of Epstein’s abuse between 2013 and 2019 are entitled to compensation ranging from $75,000 to $5 million. .
The most significant difference between the two settlements is that the JP Morgan deal does not include a range of damages for victims.
In both cases, the victims’ attorneys, led by David Boyes and Brad Edwards, demanded attorneys’ fees of up to 30 percent of the settlement. Lawyers said the fees were justified by taking more than two dozen depositions and examining dozens of witnesses in preparation for the lawsuits, according to court filings in both lawsuits.
In the settlement, JP Morgan denied that it had in any way supported Epstein’s sex trafficking campaign. The bank repeatedly called Epstein’s activities “atrocious” and “in retrospect, it was a mistake to engage with him.”
JPMorgan continued to do business with Epstein for five years after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution for teenage girls in Florida.
According to court filings, the bank and the victims’ attorneys worked out their respective settlements with the help of mediators.
Manhattan U.S. District Judge Jed Lakoff, who is overseeing the cases against the banks, still has to approve the fee claim. A judge last week gave provisional approval to a settlement agreement between the victims and Germany.
Attorneys for the victims and J.P. Morgan asked Judge Rakov to approve Simone K. Lerchuk. As a Settlement Claims Administrator. Mr. Lerczyk, a lawyer with expertise in mediation, has already been approved to oversee the settlement distribution process on the German side. She also oversaw the process of assessing settlement claims by victims of defamed film producer Harvey Weinstein. Court filings say fund managers should consider the extent of the alleged harm, the duration of the abuse, and the victim’s willingness to cooperate with law enforcement when considering a victim’s claim. .
The agreement with JP Morgan also requires the administrators to take into account any awards victims may receive from the German Settlement Fund. However, this does not prevent victims from recovering from the banks’ settlement if the abuses overlap during the time the institutions had Mr. Epstein as a client.
Any money left over at the end of the process will be donated to a charity agreed upon by the victim’s attorney and JP Morgan.
Combined, the settlements with the two banks more than double the nearly $150 million that Epstein’s estate paid out to more than 125 victims.
A settlement between JPMorgan and Epstein’s victims isn’t the end of every lawsuit.
The bank is seeking damages against former JPMorgan executive James E. Staley. close relationship with Epstein lobbied to keep him as a customer. JPMorgan is also being sued by the U.S. Virgin Islands government, from which Epstein had a private residence on the island for nearly two decades and operated from it. The Virgin Islands lawsuit is led by attorneys from Motley Rice Law Firm. retainer contract with American territory.
