Photograph-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photographs: Getty Photos, Bregal Sagemount
The JPMorgan saga involving a former banker accusing a colleague of allegedly drugging and sexual assaulting him took one other unusual activate Tuesday, when the lawyer for the accuser give up the case shortly earlier than each events had been due in courtroom — or no less than he tried to.
Daniel Kaiser — who had been representing Chirayu Rana in his lawsuit towards Lorna Hajdini and the financial institution — resigned from his place, The Wall Avenue Journal reported, with the legal professional informing the New York Supreme Court docket that the previous JPMorgan banker can be serving as his personal counsel till he may discover a substitute. However the decide presiding over the case, Dakota Ramseur, informed Kaiser that, really, he has to defend his shopper till a licensed legal professional formally takes his place. That led to an awkward scene whereby Kaiser was compelled to point out up on Rana’s behalf; based on reporter Alexander Saeedy, the lawyer “appeared fairly unenthused by having to defend a shopper he’s attempting to distance himself from, refusing even to try to rebut Hajdini and JPMorgan’s legal professionals.”
Decide Ramseur additionally dominated on Tuesday that Rana’s lawsuit have to be refiled below his personal identify, after it was initially filed final month below the pseudonym “John Doe.” Whereas Rana’s id has been identified for weeks, Melissa Rodriguez, a lawyer for Hajdini — who has been accused of drugging and forcing Rana to have intercourse along with her — argued that letting Rana proceed to make use of the pseudonym can be “prejudicial” to Hajdini and JPMorgan, whose names, Rodriguez informed the decide, have been “dragged by means of the mud.” Rodriguez added that Rana “has spoken with the media publicly,” citing an interview with South Asian neighborhood outlet the Juggernaut, and previous to that had “disclosed his identify to numerous media retailers.” As Ramseur put it, per the New York Submit: “The case regulation makes it actually clear. You’ll be able to’t put the genie again within the bottle.”
Each Hajdini and JPMorgan have denied the allegations; final week, Hajdini countersued her ex-colleague, claiming that Rana fabricated the allegations towards her, together with that she informed him, “Should you don’t fuck my brains out tonight, I’m going to sabotage your promotion.” Hajdini’s attorneys referred to as Rana’s allegations “fully false, malicious,” and “concocted for the improper function of non-public enrichment on the expense of defendants and others.” Within the countersuit, Hajdini’s attorneys additionally alleged that Rana “made up eerily comparable fabricated allegations of sexual misconduct towards a supervisor at a previous place of employment — particularly, that he was sexually assaulted, drugged, and raped by that supervisor.”
Neither Rana nor Hajdini attended the listening to on Tuesday. Decide Ramseur set the following courtroom date for June 23, whereas encouraging either side to discover a method to settle. “I do need to encourage on the document that everybody speak to their respective shoppers to the extent that they’ll and discover out what, if something, could make this case resolve itself,” she mentioned. Earlier this month, the Journal reported that JPMorgan had provided Rana $1 million to resolve the matter, which the banker rejected, apparently in search of $22 million. Talking to the New York Instances, Kaiser mentioned of the $1 million provide: “In my 30-plus-year profession as an employment litigator I’ve by no means had an employer defendant make such a considerable provide if they really believed the allegations to ‘don’t have any advantage.’”
It’s not but clear why Kaiser selected to go away the case; the legal professional didn’t instantly reply for remark. Nevertheless it’s doable the choice has to do with a deeply odd interview Rana gave to the Juggernaut final week whereby he apparently claimed he “possessed intensive proof supporting his allegations,” then when pressed about it later informed reporter Tulika Bose: “I feel there was a transparent mistake right here … I’ve by no means shared any info with you and your staff. We’re talking with Verizon now. My account has been compromised.”
