Lehman Brother’s bankruptcy estate has filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) saying that the bank had demanded billions of dollars more than it needed from Lehman during its final days, helping contribute to its ultimate demise.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. The suit suggests that Lehman, which was scrambling to stay in business, invited JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) to assist the company with emergency financing.
Lehman Brothers’ estate is accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) of using its intimate knowledge of Lehman’s books to demand as much as $8.6 billion worth of cash from the company days before it had filed bankruptcy. The suit said, that by making those demands, JPMorgan constrained the company’s liquidity and prevented Lehman from considering bankruptcy alternatives.
Lehman Brothers ultimately closed its doors on September 15th, 2008, marking one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in history.
A JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) spokesperson called the suit filed last week “merit-less” and said that the bank would “vigorously defend itself.”
