JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank seek dismissal of lawsuits by Epstein accusers

The banks, in papers filed on Friday night in Manhattan federal court in New York, said they did not participate in or benefit from sex trafficking by their former client, and that the unnamed women failed to allege violations of a federal anti-trafficking law.

The banks also said they had no duty to protect the women from Epstein and did not cause his abuses, requiring the dismissal of claims under a new law in New York that lets abuse victims sue even if statutes of limitations have expired.

Lawyers for the women did not immediately respond on Saturday to requests for comment.

Both lawsuits seek class-action status and unspecified damages. They were filed on 24 November by lawyers who have represented many Epstein accusers.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Epstein was a JPMorgan client from about 2000 to 2013, and a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018, court papers show.

The JPMorgan plaintiff is a former ballet dancer who said Epstein abused and trafficked her from 2006 to 2013, while the Deutsche Bank plaintiff said she suffered from similar misconduct between 2003 and 2018.