The JPMorgan is sued for selling $10 million in jewelry. The Araneta, on the other hand, assert that the bank mailed notices to a P.O. box in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in March of 2016, but that they were never received by the couple.
The Aranetas maintain that they never saw the notices. The bank asserts that the pair had used checks with the Louisiana address on previous occasions when they made payments on their account with those checks.
In those notifications, JPMorgan notified the couple that if the bank would not receive a payment within sixty days, two of their safe deposit boxes would be drilled open and the contents removed.
In February 2017, the bank drilled into four of the couple's seven boxes removed the contents, and moved them to a safe location. It appears that the couple was ignorant of this.
The Aranetas assert that they were unaware of what had taken place until more than two years later, in October 2019, and that they have since brought their accounts up to date to bring them into compliance with the law.
Allegedly in response, the bank assured them that their belongings will be brought back to them.
But, according to the lawsuit, JPMorgan sold the various objects at auction for more than $552,700 less than ten months later.
That is a large sum, but according to the Aranetas, it is still a significant amount lower than the value of the gems and other items.
They have a rough estimate that the total is somewhere between $8 million and $10 million, which is a significant amount of moneyto simply disappear for no apparent reason.
The Aranetas Claim They Began Renting Safe Deposit Boxes In 2006
The Aranetas claimed in their legal action that they started renting safe deposit boxes in 2006 and continued to prolong their contracts on an annual basis.
The initial expenditure for the leases was not disclosed in court; however, the lawsuit alleges that the couple made four installment payments totaling $190.53 for the deposit boxes in May 2014.
According to the allegations made in the lawsuit, JPMorgan allegedly removed the contents of four of its safety deposit boxes on or around February 17, 2017, without first obtaining the customers' permission.
Banks Banning Cash From Being Stored in Safe Deposit Boxes? JP Morgan Chase Customers Say Yes
The couple is requesting payment at this time for their personal property. The vaults were said to have included goldcoins, jewels, and Rolex watches, as stated in the legal documents.
An exhibit that is included in the lawsuit is a five-page inventory of the items that the couple claims were stored in the safe deposit boxes. The couple is the plaintiff in the case.
According to the legal brief that Insider was able to review, United States District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald dismissed one of the charges in the complaint on Wednesday on the grounds that it was based on an incorrect interpretation of New York banking law.
The legal action is proceeding, and the grounds for it include, among other things, allegations of carelessness. Araneta v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, case number 22-cv-2346, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.