Overview
- U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff moved Leon Black’s deposition from March 16 to March 26 and allotted five hours for victims’ lawyers and three for Bank of America’s counsel.
- The hearing followed a court filing earlier in the day concerning Black’s upcoming testimony in the proposed class action brought by women who say the bank facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse.
- Plaintiffs allege Bank of America ignored suspicious payments from Black to Epstein; last month, Rakoff allowed claims of reckless disregard to proceed toward trial.
- Bank of America has said the complaint at best alleges it banked high net-worth clients tied to Epstein and does not show it intentionally obstructed law enforcement, while Black denies wrongdoing and says he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes.
- Black’s lawyer told the judge the parties were very close to resolving the dispute, a characterization not confirmed by the bank or plaintiffs, and House Oversight separately seeks Black’s testimony on May 13.