JPMorgan Judge Upends $1.1 Million Whistle-Blower Verdict
- Verdict comes after eight years of delays and appeals
- Judge says jury ‘prejudiced’ against JPM, may order new trial
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
It took Jennifer Sharkey more than eight years to get a trial over her dismissal from JPMorgan Chase & Co. A Manhattan jury needed only five hours to find the former wealth manager was fired illegally and award her $1.13 million in damages. Then, it took just an hour for a Manhattan judge to upend the verdict and send the whole case back to square one.
A jury of five women and three men found that the bank retaliated by firing Sharkey after she recommended the dumping of a client whom she suspected of fraud and money laundering. The panel rejected the bank’s claim that Sharkey was dismissed because she lied to her boss on multiple occasions. Sharkey was awarded $563,000 in back pay and $563,000 for emotional damage.