Washington Mutual Bank was closed by the U.S. government in September, in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history. Its banking assets were sold the same day to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion, and the parent holding company filed for bankruptcy protection a day later. The company is seeking the return of the cash deposits, to which it lost access when the bank was sold.
JPMorgan is withholding deposits 'without any legitimate factual or legal basis,' according to court documents.
WaMu has said it needs access to that cash to come up with its Chapter 11 plan, and that by withholding the deposits, JPMorgan could be earning as much as $200 million per year in interest on those deposits.
A JPMorgan Chase spokesman in New York said the company had no comment.
The lawsuit was filed as an adversary proceeding to WaMu's main bankruptcy case.
The bankruptcy case is In re: Washington Mutual, Inc. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-12229. (Reporting by Emily Chasan, writing by Chelsea Emery, editng by Dave Zimmerman) Keywords: WAMU/JPMORGAN (chelsea.emery@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6115; Reuters Messaging: chelsea.emery.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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