JPMorgan Seeks to End $115M Fee Advances

JPMorgan Chase asked a Delaware court to end its obligation to advance roughly $115 million in legal fees for Charlie Javice and co‑defendant Olivier Amar and filed to reverse an earlier ruling that enforced the fee‑advancement clause. The bank said Javice’s lawyers have received about $60.1 million and Amar’s about $55.2 million, with a single firm paid roughly $35.6 million, and argued that hiring five firms produced excessive, duplicative billing. JPMorgan described the cumulative payments as a “blank check” and said it will present the court evidence of alleged billing abuse. Javice and Amar were convicted in March for fabricating user data to induce JPMorgan’s $175 million purchase of Frank; Javice was sentenced to seven years and is appealing before reporting to prison, while Amar has been convicted but not yet sentenced. The bank told the court it will be irreparably harmed unless the fee‑advancement requirement is curtailed.