JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Goes on Offensive in Madoff Lawsuit

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) went on the attack today against court-appointed trustee Irving Picard, claiming he's attempting bypass the law in pursuing his $6.4 billion case against them over the Bernie Madoff debacle.

Their concerns center around Picard suing in bankruptcy court rather than having a jury trial, which JPMorgan says they have the right to.

JPMorgan said in a court filing, "The trustee's massive damages action against JPMorgan bears no resemblance to a typical lawsuit commenced by a bankruptcy trustee."

"In substance, the trustee is trying to pursue an enormous back-door class action."

The giant bank told presiding U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland that the case belongs in federal district court, citing the need for a "significant interpretation" of federal banking law, including the Bank Secrecy Act and USA Patriot Act, and whether or not Picard even has standing to sue, requiring an assessment of federal securities law.

JPMorgan said, "The trustee's claims raise fundamental questions, of great importance to the banking industry as a whole, as to whether banks such as JPMorgan have liability to private plaintiffs for fraud conducted by their customers. These issues fall outside the province of the bankruptcy court."

Filing on behalf of JPMorgan was John Savarese, a partner at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

JPMorgan was trading at $45.20, down $0.54, or 1.18 percent, as of 11:29 AM EST.