Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 122-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y. 2022)/056.pdf

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS, Plaintiff, v. JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., Defendant. No. 22-cv-10904-JSR JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.’S REPLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISMISS Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 56 Filed 02/22/23 Page 1 of 16 i TABLE OF CONTENTS ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................1 I. The TVPA Claim (Count I) Should Be Dismissed ..............................................................1 A. Section 1595(d) Does Not Apply Retroactively ......................................................1 B. USVI Lacks Standing Under §1595(d) ....................................................................2 C. The Complaint Does Not State A Claim For A Violation Of §1591(a) ..................3 II. USVI’s Territorial-Law Claims (Counts II-IV) Are Impermissibly Extraterritorial And Fail To State A Claim ..........................................................................................................7 A. USVI’s Territorial-Law Claims Are Impermissibly Extraterritorial .......................7 B. The Complaint Does Not Plead CICO Claims ........................................................7 1. USVI fails to plead the elements of a CICO claim ......................................7 2. USVI fails to allege predicate criminal activity ...........................................9 C. USVI Lacks Standing To Pursue A CICO Claim Predicated On BSA Violations ........................................................................................................9 D. The Complaint Does Not Plead A Consumer Protection Claim ............................10 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................10 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 56 Filed 02/22/23 Page 2 of 16 ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) CASES Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. Puerto Rico ex rel. Barez, 458 U.S. 592 (1982) .............................................................................................................3 Anthony v. FirstBank V.I., 58 V.I. 224 (2013) ................................................................................................................9 Arellano v. McDonough, 143 S. Ct. 543 (2023) ...........................................................................................................9 Canosa v. Ziff, 2019 WL 498865 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 28, 2019) ........................................................................4 City of Indianapolis v. West, 81 N.E.3d 1069 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017)...................................................................................7 D’Addario v. D’Addario, 901 F.3d 80 (2d Cir. 2018)...................................................................................................8 Ditullio v. Boehm, 662 F.3d 1091 (9th Cir. 2011) .............................................................................................2 E.S. v. Best Western Int’l, Inc., 510 F. Supp. 3d 420 (N.D. Tex. 2021) ................................................................................5 G.G. v. Salesforce.com, Inc., 603 F. Supp. 3d 626 (N.D. Ill. 2022) ...................................................................................4 Geiss v. Weinstein Co. Holdings LLC, 383 F. Supp. 3d 156 (S.D.N.Y. 2019)..................................................................................5 H.H. v. G6 Hospitality, Inc., 2019 WL 6682152 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 6, 2019) ......................................................................6 Hughes Aircraft Co. v. U.S. ex rel. Schumer, 520 U.S. 939 (1997) .............................................................................................................2 Infospan, Inc. v. Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, 903 F.3d 896 (9th Cir. 2018) ...............................................................................................7 Landgraf v. USI Film Products, 511 U.S. 244 (1994) .............................................................................................................1 Lawson v. Rubin, 2018 WL 2012869 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 29, 2018) .....................................................................5 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 56 Filed 02/22/23 Page 3 of 16 iii Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez, 572 U.S. 1 (2014) .................................................................................................................9 M.A. v. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc., 425 F. Supp. 3d 959 (S.D. Ohio 2019) ................................................................................4 Missouri ex rel. Koster v. Harris, 847 F.3d 646 (9th Cir. 2017) ...............................................................................................3 New York v. Facebook, Inc., 549 F. Supp. 3d 6 (D.D.C. 2021) .........................................................................................3 Niles Freeman Equipment v. Joseph, 161 Cal. App. 4th 765 (2008) ..............................................................................................2 Noble v. Weinstein, 335 F. Supp. 3d 504 (S.D.N.Y. 2018)..................................................................................5 Panos v. Universal Forest Products, Inc., 2020 WL 416445 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2020), aff’d, 828 F. App’x 81 (2d Cir. 2020) ...........8 People v. McKenzie, 66 V.I. 3 (Super. Ct. 2017)...................................................................................................8 Rosner v. Bank of China, 528 F. Supp. 2d 419 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)..................................................................................7 S.J. v. Choice Hotels Int’l, Inc., 473 F. Supp. 3d 147 (E.D.N.Y. 2020) .................................................................................5 Schwartz v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 2017 WL 95118 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 9, 2017), aff’d, 750 F. App’x 34 (2d Cir. 2018) .............10 Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330 (2016) ...........................................................................................................10 United States ex rel. Grubea v. Rosicki, Rosicki & Assocs., P.C., 318 F. Supp. 3d 680 (S.D.N.Y. 2018)..................................................................................6 United States v. Gonzales, 520 U.S. 1 (1997) .................................................................................................................6 Velez v. Sanchez, 693 F.3d 308 (2d Cir. 2012).................................................................................................1 Wright v. Ernst & Young LLP, 152 F.3d 169 (2d Cir. 1998).............................................................................................2, 3 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 56 Filed 02/22/23 Page 4 of 16 iv STATUTES, RULES, AND REGULATIONS 18 U.S.C. §1591(a)(2) ..................................................................................................................3, 5, 6 §1595(a) ...................................................................................................................1, 2, 5, 6 §1595(d) .......................................................................................................................1, 2, 5 5 V.I.C. §31(3)(B)............................................................................................................................10 §31(4)(B)............................................................................................................................10 12A V.I.C. §302....................................................................................................................................10