By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. 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 its work for the late sex offender. Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan is a defeat for Staley, and for women who claim that Epstein sexually abused them and are also suing the largest U.S. bank.
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013. The U.S. Virgin Islands, where the financier had a home, is also suing JPMorgan. A trial is scheduled for Oct. 23. Staley, 66, who also spent six years as Barclays Plc’s chief executive before resigning in November 2021, said the trial schedule left him too little time to defend against JPMorgan’s “slanderous” accusations.
Epstein’s accusers, meanwhile, accused JPMorgan of suing Staley as a means to “harass and intimidate” them into revealing private medical records and communications in their case. But the judge called Staley a “prominent focus” of all three cases, and noted that his Washington law firm Williams & Connolly calls itself as 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,” Rakoff wrote.
The judge also said Epstein’s accusers “cannot have been blind” to their need to disclose sensitive information.
Brendan Sullivan, a lawyer for Staley, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Brad Edwards, a lawyer for the accusers, said in an email: “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.”
The U.S. Virgin Islands seeks unspecified damages in its lawsuit, while the accusers are seeking potentially billions of dollars in theirs.
JPMorgan sued Staley last month to have him cover its losses in both lawsuits and forfeit eight years of compensation.
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.
The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are: Jane Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase & Co, No. 22-10019; Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, No. 22-10904; and JPMorgan Chase Bank NA v Staley, in Nos. 22-10019 and 22-10904.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
