JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, have asked a federal court to reject the inclusion of Dimon as a defendant in a $5 billion lawsuit brought by former President Donald Trump, saying the move was an improper attempt to keep the case in state court.
In a court filing on Thursday, the bank and Dimon argued that allegations of unfair trade practices cannot be applied to bank officers who are directly supervised by federal banking regulators. The filing in the federal district court in Miami was made as the defendants sought initial removal of the case from the Miami-Dade County court where it was originally lodged, before pursuing a further transfer to federal court in Manhattan.
The suit was filed in January in Miami-Dade County by Trump in his personal capacity. It asks for $5 billion in damages and accuses JPMorgan of trade libel, saying the bank placed Trump on a banking "blacklist" after closing several of his accounts in 2021, shortly after the end of his first term. JPMorgan and Dimon denied those allegations in the filing and stated they were unaware of any such blacklist.
The filing emphasized procedural and jurisdictional objections, noting that corporate defendants commonly seek federal court venues for litigation. The bank's submission contends that designating Dimon as a defendant is not appropriate under the legal framework that governs claims against officers of federally regulated banks.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team responded with a statement asserting that JPMorgan and Dimon had effectively debanked and blacklisted Trump, his family and their businesses. The statement said, "The defendants committed these tortious acts only because of the president’s America First policies, which have saved our nation. President Trump is standing up for all those wrongly debanked by JPMorgan Chase and their cohorts, and will see this case to a just, and proper conclusion."
The litigation against JPMorgan is one of at least six suits the former president has filed in his personal capacity since returning to the presidency. The defendants' request to move the litigation into the federal court system in Manhattan is an early procedural step that, if granted, would change the forum in which the claims are litigated and the rules that govern the case.
Contextual note: The filings presented by both sides focus on legal positioning and jurisdictional questions rather than new factual assertions about account closures or an alleged blacklist. The parties continue to contest the factual and legal bases of the complaint as the procedural dispute over venue proceeds.