JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $350 million to Enron Corp. to settle “MegaClaims” litigation stemming from the energy trader’s bankruptcy. The investment bank also agreed to drop claims against the energy giant, bringing the total value of the settlement to an estimated $1 billion, according to Enron.
Further, Toronto Dominion Bank agreed to pay Enron $70 million in cash to settle its part of the agreement, plus another $60 million for the right to transfer to other parties some of its claims for money owed by Enron, according to the Dow Jones News Service.
Enron said the settlements announced Tuesday bring payments in the MegaClaims case to $735 million. In addition, a number of banks have agreed to forgo or pay to pursue claims valued at around $3 billion. “Today’s settlement is a tremendous financial outcome for the Enron estate,” said Stephen Cooper, Enron’s interim CEO and chief restructuring officer.
The Enron MegaClaims complaint involves claims that the banks aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duties; aided and abetted fraud; and engaged in civil conspiracy. The suit also includes bankruptcy-based claims relating to equitable subordination; preferential and/or fraudulent transfers; and the re-characterization of certain transactions.
In June, JPMorgan agreed to pay $2.2 billion as part of a broad settlement with investors less than a week after Citigroup agreed to pay $2 billion to settle Enron shareholder claims.
“With today’s agreement, we have put behind us another significant piece of our Enron exposure,” said William B. Harrison, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan.
Financial institutions that have not agreed to settle so far include Barclays PLC; Citigroup Inc.; Credit Suisse First Boston, Inc.; Deutsche Bank AG; and Merrill Lynch & Co.
