Hopper, who pioneered a reservation system for the airline, died unexpectedly without a will, according to court records.
JPMorgan was hired to administer the estate and the bank should have divided the assets and released them to Jo Hopper and her stepchildren, according to the lawsuit. Instead, her lawyers said in a statement, “the bank took years to release basic interests in art, home furnishings, jewelry, and notably, Mr. Hopper’s collection of 6,700 golf putters and 900 bottles of wine.”
The plaintiffs alleged that bank representatives failed to meet financial deadlines for assets under their control, stock options were allowed to expire, and Mrs. Hopper’s wishes to sell stock were ignored.
Stephen Hopper and Laura Wassmer also claimed that the bank cut them out of decisions and kept them uninformed in order to curry favor with their stepmother.
Jo Hopper initially sued the bank, alleging breach of fiduciary duty. JPMorgan paid legal fees to defend this out of the estate account, depleting it by more than $3 million, the plaintiffs said in court filings.
Alvarez, the juror, said she isn’t concerned that the plaintiffs are now asking for much less than the $8 billion award. “I’m sure they’re trying to be fair,” she said.
The case is Hopper v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, PR-11-3238-1, Probate Court, Dallas County, Texas.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.