Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 122-cv-10904 (S.D.N.Y. 2022)/040.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 J PMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION TO DISMISS Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 40 Filed 02/01/23 Page 1 of 32 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ......................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................2 ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................4 I. The TVPA Claim (Count I) Should Be Dismissed ..............................................................4 A. Section 1595(d) Does Not Apply Retroactively ......................................................4 B. USVI Lacks Standing Under §1595(d) ....................................................................5 C. The Complaint Does Not State A Claim For A Violation Of §1591(a) ..................7 1. The Complaint does not plausibly allege that JPMC participated in a commercial sex trafficking venture .............................................................7 2. The Complaint does not plausibly allege that JPMC knew that force, fraud, or coercion would be used ...............................................................10 3. The Complaint does not plausibly allege that JPMC knew any benefit it received arose from any sex-trafficking venture involving Epstein........................................................................................................13 II. USVI’s Territorial-Law Claims (Counts II-IV) Are Impermissibly Extraterritorial And Fail To State A Claim ................................................................................................14 A. USVI’s Territorial-Law Claims (Counts II-IV) Are Impermissibly Extraterritorial ........................................................................................................15 B. The Complaint Does Not Plead CICO Claims (Counts II and III) ........................16 1. USVI fails to plead the elements of a CICO claim ....................................17 a) USVI fails to allege JPMC was associated with a CICO enterprise ........................................................................................17 b) JPMC did not conduct or participate in the affairs of the alleged “Epstein Enterprise” ..........................................................18 c) USVI fails to allege a pattern of criminal activity .........................19 2. USVI fails to allege predicate criminal activity .........................................20 C. USVI Lacks Standing to Pursue A CICO Claim Predicated on BSA Violations (Count III) ............................................................................................23 D. The Complaint Does Not Plead a Consumer Protection Claim (Count IV) ..........25 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................25 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 40 Filed 02/01/23 Page 2 of 32 ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) Cases Adhikari v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 845 F.3d 184 (5th Cir. 2017) .....................................................................................................5 Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. P.R. ex rel. Barez, 458 U.S. 592 (1982) ...............................................................................................................5, 7 American Charities for Reasonable Fundraising Regulation, Inc. v. Pinellas County, 221 F.3d 1211 (11th Cir. 2000) .........................................................................................15, 16 Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) ...................................................................................................................2 Beauchamp v. City of New York, 3 A.D. 3d 465 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004) .....................................................................................16 Canosa v. Ziff, 2019 WL 498865 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 28, 2019) ..................................................................9, 13, 14 Charleswell v. Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., 308 F. Supp. 2d 545 (D.V.I. 2004) ..........................................................................................17 Chemtex, LLC v. St. Anthony Enterprises, Inc., 490 F. Supp. 2d 536 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)......................................................................................13 Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 568 U.S. 398 (2013) ...........................................................................................................23, 24 D’Addario v. D’Addario, 901 F.3d 80 (2d Cir. 2018).......................................................................................................19 Doe #1 v. Red Roof Inns, Inc., 21 F.4th 714 (11th Cir. 2021) ..................................................................................................13 Doe v. Alsaud, 12 F. Supp. 3d 674 (S.D.N.Y. 2014)........................................................................................18 E.S. v. Best Western Int’l, Inc., 510 F. Supp. 3d 420 (N.D. Tex. 2021) ....................................................................................10 G.G. v. Salesforce.com, Inc., 2022 WL 1541408 (N.D. Ill. May 16, 2022) .............................................................................9 Case 1:22-cv-10904-JSR Document 40 Filed 02/01/23 Page 3 of 32 iii Geiss v. Weinstein Co. Holdings LLC, 383 F. Supp. 3d 156 (S.D.N.Y. 2019)..................................................................................8, 13 H.H. v. G6 Hospitality, LLC, 2019 WL 6682152 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 6, 2019) ..........................................................................10 Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235 (1958) .................................................................................................................16 Hughes Aircraft Co. v. U.S. ex rel. Schumer, 520 U.S. 939 (1996) ...................................................................................................................5 In re Agape Litigation, 773 F. Supp. 2d 298 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) .....................................................................................12 Jingyu Chen v. Yong Zhao Cai, 2022 WL 917575 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2022) ...........................................................................18 Lawson v. Rubin, 2018 WL 2012869 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 29, 2018) .................................................................8, 9, 12 Martinez v. Colombian Emeralds, Inc., 51 V.I. 174 (2009) ....................................................................................................................15 Michelson v. Merrill Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 619 F. Supp. 727 (S.D.N.Y. 1985) ..........................................................................................15 Missouri ex rel. Koster v. Harris, 847 F.3d 646 (9th Cir. 2017) .....................................................................................................5 New York by Abrams v. Seneci, 817 F.2d 1015 (2d Cir. 1987).....................................................................................................6 New York ex rel. Spitzer v. Cain, 418 F. Supp. 2d 457 (S.D.N.Y. 2006)....................................................................................5, 6 New York v. Facebook, Inc., 549 F. Supp. 3d 6 (D.D.C. 2021) ...........................................................................................6, 7 Noble v. Weinstein, 335 F. Supp. 3d 504 (S.D.N.Y. 2018)................