Prairie Village Mayor Laura Wassmer is among plaintiffs in a $4 billion estate case

Prairie Village Mayor Laura Wassmer is among the plaintiffs awarded more than $4 billion in damages by a Texas jury in a case involving her late father’s estate.

The Dallas Business Journal reports that the probate jury last week found JP Morgan Chase had breached its fiduciary duty in administering the estate of Max D. Hopper, who helped create the Sabre airline reservation system. He died in 2010 without a valid will.

After a four-week trial, the jury found in favor of Hopper’s widow, Jo Hopper, and her stepchildren, Wassmer and Stephen Hopper of Oklahoma City.

The bank was hired by the family to administer the estate.

“The nation’s largest bank horribly mistreated me, and this verdict provides protection to others from being mistreated by banks that think they’re too powerful to be held accountable,” Jo Hopper was quoted as saying. “The country’s largest bank, people we are supposed to trust with our livelihood, abused my family and me out of sheer ineptitude and greed. I’m blessed that I have the resources to hold JP Morgan accountable so other widows who don’t have the same resources will be better protected in the future.”

“Surviving stage 4 lymphoma cancer was easier than dealing with this bank and its estate administration,” Hopper added.

At the time of his death, Max Hopper’s estate was estimated at more than $19 million.

James S. Bell, trial lawyer for Hopper’s adult children, said that although JPMorgan Chase had represented itself as expert in independent estate administration matters, it took years for an initial release of assets to the family with a significant portion still untouched by estate administrators. During the trial, the jury was told that after the family sued for breach of fiduciary duty, the bank used money from the estate account to pay its legal fees, which cost Wassmer and Stephen Hopper more than $3 million in inheritance value.

The bulk of the jury award was in punitive damages. It also awarded $4.7 million in actual damages and $5 million in attorney’s fees.

The Dallas News said the verdict is likely to be knocked down on appeal.

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Prairie Village Mayor Laura Wassmer is among plaintiffs in a $4 billion estate case."