A trial had been set for September in the case, and in April Jane Doe and her lawyer David Boies had filed a motion to certify a class in the case, but the judge had yet to rule on the motion at the time of the settlement.
A Jeffrey Epstein survivor scored a huge legal victory for victims of the pedophile this week, according to her attorneys.
Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle a civil suit filed by a Jane Doe in federal court that alleged that the financial giant "knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture."
That news was shared by her attorneys, and court records show that the judge has not yet approved the settlement.
A trial had been set for September in the case, and in April Jane Doe and her lawyer David Boies had filed a motion to certify a class in the case, but the judge had yet to rule on the motion at the time of the settlement.
The proposed class action consists of 125 Epstein victims who would be entitled to some portion of the $75million according to Doe's lawyers.
Deutsche Bank denied all allegations and admitted no wrongdoing in court filings prior to the settlement.
"The settlement reached with Deutsche Bank is an important moment for sex trafficking victims because it establishes that those who hold the purse strings are accountable under the law," said Sigrid McCawley of Boies Schiller Flexner.
Deutsche Bank did not offer any comment on the settlement but did say in a statement that the company had "made considerable progress in remedying a number of past issues, including investing more than 4 billion euros to bolster our controls, as well as training and operational processes."
Doe detailed her years of alleged abuse in her complaint.
"From 2003, when Doe was first introduced to Epstein, and through her eventual separation from Epstein and his organization 15 years later, Epstein and his co-conspirators used extreme measures of force, fraud and coercion to cause Jane Doe 1 to engage in commercial sex and to remain obedient to the organization," Doe alleged in her 163-page complaint. "Having been conditioned that the sexual abuse was 'normal' and knowing that everyone surrounding Epstein, including accountants, lawyers, bankers, and other important people, were aware of the sex abuse, Jane Doe 1 was coerced into a cult-like life controlled by Epstein and others to be sexually abused and sexually trafficked."
The complaint states that over the course of 15 years Epstein "engaged in sexual intercourse with Jane Doe without her consent"; "Epstein engaged in sexual intercourse with Jane Doe by forcible compulsion"; "Epstein engaged in oral sexual conduct with Jane Doe by forcible compulsion"; "Epstein, intentionally and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly sexually touched Jane Doe for the purpose of degrading or abusing her or for the purpose of gratifying his own sexual desire"; and "inserted a foreign object in Jane Doe's vagina causing physical injury, by forcible compulsion."
In the documents, Doe does not say how old she was when she met Epstein, nor does she explain how she made her escape. She sought a settlement from the Victims Compensation Fund after Epstein's death.
Jordana Feldman, the administrator of the fund, said in an August 2021 press release that the fund paid $121 million to more than 135 victims of sexual assault.
It had previously been revealed in court during the federal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell that one victim received $1.5 million from the fund and a second witness testifying against Epstein's British-born enabler received a $5 million settlement.
In exchange for that settlement, victims were required to sign a five-page document.
Inside Edition Digital obtained that document, which states that in consideration of the settlement amount, the individual "releases and forever discharges" any "current and former principals, officers, directors, stockholders, managers, members, partners, limited partners, trustees, beneficiaries, administrators, agents, employees, attorneys, predecessors, successors, assigns and affiliates, and any entities or individuals who are or have ever been engaged by (whether as independent contractors or otherwise) employed by, or worked in any capacity for Jeffrey E. Epstein and/or the Epstein estate from any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sums of money, accounts, variances, trespasses, damages and judgments, whether sounding in equity, tort, common law, contract, statute, regulation or otherwise, and whether now existing, hereafter existing, or revived in the future whatsoever in law, admiralty, equity or otherwise, including without limitation any and all claims or causes of action that arise or may arise from or which otherwise concern acts of sexual abuse, or sex trafficked by Mr. Epstein."
Once signed, the full settlement amount would be wired to the claimant within 15 days.
Deutsche Bank unsuccessfully tried to use this settlement agreement to dismiss the case against them in court
"Plaintiff’s claims are released by the April 28, 2022 General Release and Settlement Agreement that Plaintiff entered into with the Epstein Estate, which contains a 'broad release' of any and all claims, including those relating to 'acts of sexual abuse or sex trafficking' by Epstein, against not only Epstein and his Estate, but also against a wide array of other individuals and entities, including any entity that was ever “engaged by” or 'worked in any capacity for' Epstein," Deutsche Bank writes as an affirmative defense in their response to Doe's complaint. "In exchange for giving that 'broad release,' Plaintiff received a substantial settlement payment from the Epstein Estate."
The judge ultimately agreed to dismiss eight of the twelve counts.
The four remaining claims in the civil suit were that defendants: knowingly benefited from participating in a sex-trafficking venture; obstructed enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act; negligently failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent physical harm; and negligently failed to exercise reasonable care as a banking institution providing non-routine banking.
The judge previously weighed in on how much legal protection the settlement agreement signed by Doe afforded Deutsche Bank.
"Deutsche Bank also argues that ... the Settlement Agreement was intended to resolve a broad class of claims potentially asserted by DB Jane Doe, including claims against Deutsche Bank," Judge Jed Rakoff wrote in his opinion allowing the case to proceed to trial in September. "But this argument is sheer speculation at best and hardly sufficient to meet the high standard for evidencing third-party beneficiary status."
Among the counts dismissed by the court were: intentional infliction of emotional distress, participating in a sex trafficking venture, RICO violations, and aiding, abetting, and inducing a sex trafficking venture.
In 2020, Deutsche Bank, as part of a settlement agreement, agreed to pay a $150 million fine for its dealings with Epstein between 2013 and 2018, after an investigation by the New York Department of Financial Services alleged that bankers overlooked multiple red flags about the pedophile's past and failed to properly monitor how his funds were being distributed.
A regulator claimed that "very few problematic transactions were ever questioned, and even when they were, they were usually cleared without satisfactory explanation" in that 2020 report, which was obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
