Legal Morass: A major shakeup in JP Morgan Chase's Card Litigation Dept.

An update from Legal Morass website:

On 23 June 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that JP Morgan Chase had dismissed, from April 2011 through June 2011, over a thousand consumer credit card lawsuits within the states of California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York.

Legal Morass observation: These states reflect the bulk of the 28,000 credit card accounts comprised within the Chase/DebtOne post-judgment portfolio. The actual number of lawsuits that Chase abandoned could be much higher. Additionally, the problems associated with and within this specific portfolio extend into other Chase aged-debt portfolios, have for over a decade and have continued after the sale of this specific portfolio. The tremendous success of such practices, procedures and systems to collect upon the toxic assets bundled into these portfolios eventually migrated into other financial products including that of home mortgages and their associated securities.


On 24 June 2011, several sources, all anonymous, report that the Custodian of Records for the Chase/DebtOne post-judgment portfolio, Jason Lazinbat, was stripped of all duties. Mr. Lazinbat is/was, also, a Vice President and the Operations Manager of Chase Credit Card Litigation, San Antonio, Texas Credit Card Operations Center.

During the week of 4 July 2011, anonymous sources report that JP Morgan Chase notified employees of Chase's Card Litigation Support Group, centers located in Delaware and San Antonio, Texas, that the centers will be closed by 1 October 2011. Employees within these centers (estimates of up to 1,000 employees) will not be retained by Chase.

These centers managed, through a group of Chase attorneys, litigation by Chase to collect upon credit card toxic assets. Now, rather than directly suing consumers, Chase will bundle these toxic assets, current estimates of $ 5 Billion Dollars, into portfolios to be sold to aged debt buyers who will then attempt collection and litigation upon these consumer accounts.

Anonymous sources, also, report that certain high-level employees within these centers, were informed that Chase will not provide these high-level employees with criminal defense or payment for such defense, that such defense must be provided by these employees on their own. Anonymous sources also indicate that certain attorneys terminated by Chase in April have retained or are seeking criminal defense legal representation.