JPMorgan Chase & Co. has asked a court to remove President Donald Trump's lawsuit from Florida state court, asserting that Mr. Trump improperly named CEO Jamie Dimon as a defendant in an effort to keep the dispute at the state level.
In a filing submitted Thursday, the bank signaled its intent to move the case to federal court in Miami and ultimately to pursue a transfer to New York. JPMorgan argues that the claim against Dimon - that he directed the bank to place Mr. Trump and his businesses on a so-called "blacklist" - cannot be sustained under the Florida statute cited by the plaintiff.
The bank's filing makes a jurisdictional argument rooted in federal oversight of the banking industry. JPMorgan contends that Florida's unfair trade practices law is inapplicable to Dimon because he is "closely and comprehensively regulated by the federal banking agencies." The company further asserts that Dimon was "fraudulently joined" to the suit solely to defeat federal-court jurisdiction.
Donald Trump filed the suit in January against both JPMorgan and Jamie Dimon, seeking at least $5 billion in damages. The complaint alleges that Trump and his affiliated companies were effectively "debanked" for political reasons.
In its Thursday filing JPMorgan characterized Mr. Trump's complaint as "threadbare" and indicated it plans to seek dismissal of the claims. The bank's immediate procedural objective is to move the litigation out of Florida state court into the federal system in Miami, with an eventual transfer to New York specified in its court papers.
Beyond the jurisdictional dispute, JPMorgan's argument frames the question as whether state-law unfair trade claims can reach an individual CEO who, the bank says, operates under comprehensive federal supervision. The filing asserts that permitting the suit to proceed against Dimon under Florida's statute would be inappropriate given that federal regulators oversee his activities.
The litigation remains at an early stage, with the bank pursuing removal and dismissal motions as its next steps.