(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has dropped more than a thousand lawsuits across the United States that were aimed at collecting soured credit card debt since April, the Wall Street Journal reported. State judges said the bank has dropped lawsuits targeting borrowers in California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, the Journal said. The average amount sought in credit-card lawsuits is roughly $1,000, the paper reported, citing some judges who were to decide these cases. However, the second-largest U.S. bank did not disclose the exact number of cases dropped or the reasons for the move, the Journal said.
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In those five states, J.P. Morgan was owed $45.9 billion on outstanding credit cards as of March 31, including both current and delinquent accounts.
Thomas Donnelly, an Illinois state-court judge in Chicago, said lawyers for J.P. Morgan asked to withdraw all the pending collection cases in his courtroom this month, without explaining their decision. He allowed the bank to dismiss the cases without prejudice, meaning J.P. Morgan can refile them later.
At least for now, though, the borrowers won't be subject to one of the most effective debt-collection tools. Roughly 94% of collection cases filed against borrowers result in default judgments in favor of the lender, according to industry estimates.
J.P. Morgan spokesman Paul Hartwick wouldn't confirm or deny the lawsuit dismissals. In a statement, he said the New York bank considers "our collections strategy to be proprietary."
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