- A couple has accused JP Morgan of selling valuables stored in a moneylender’s safe deposit box.
- According to the complaint, JP Morgan opened four safe deposit boxes because it did not receive rent for them.
- The couple said their bank had sent the bill to the wrong address, but the payment was made.
A Filipino couple suing JPMorgan Chase says the bank sold $8 million to $10 million worth of valuables that had been kept in a safe deposit box of a New York lender.
Jorge and Stella Araneta live in the Philippines but own an apartment in New York City, according to a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York on March 22, 2022. According to a complaint seen by an insider, the couple alleges the bank opened four of their seven safe deposit boxes after they failed to pay their rent.
Arnetas claims that the bank sent the bill to the wrong address, causing a delay in paying the vault. The bank sent his two final notices to the Louisiana PO Box to update her two boxes, which were not approved by the couple, not the owners. The notice has been returned to the bank.
The complaint did not specifically state how Aranetas eventually realized that it had not paid for the four boxes, but in October 2019, it decided to renew the lease. When I went directly to the bank, it states that I have paid the outstanding rent in full. The bank promised that the removed valuables would be returned.
However, JP Morgan still puts its products up for auction, according to the complaint.
The couple estimate the contents of the safe deposit box to be worth between $8 million and $10 million. They did not provide a basis for this estimate in their complaint. JP Morgan sold the product in early summer 2020 for $552,700, according to the complaint.
JP Morgan declined to comment.
Aranetas says it began renting safe deposit boxes in 2006.
Aranetas said in its complaint that it began renting safe-deposit boxes in 2006 and renews the leases annually. The application did not list the original cost of the lease, but the complaint states that the couple made four payments of $190.53 each to the safe deposit box in May 2014.
According to the complaint, on or about February 17, 2017, JP Morgan opened and removed four safe deposit boxes without notice.
Now the couple is seeking compensation for valuables. According to court documents, the contents of the safe included jewelry, a Rolex watch and gold coins. The complaint contains a five-page list of exhibits of items the couple claims were in their deposit box.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Naomi Rice Buchwald dismissed According to court filings seen by an insider, one of the allegations in the lawsuit is based on an interpretation of New York’s banking law.
Lawsuits are ongoing for negligence and other grounds.
The case is Araneta v JPMorgan Chase Bank, 22-cv-2346, United States District Court, Southern District of New York.