The estate of a deceased broker filed a wrongful death lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., saying he took his life after becoming despondent because he was forced to retire.
Michael A. Lorig suffered from depression and mental illness, and the bank pressured him to retire rather than granting a long-term disability so he could be treated, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court. He had joined the bank through its acquisition of Bear Stearns.
"They preferred to cast aside an employee they regarded as too old and too disabled to remain," the estate said in the complaint in which it seeks unspecified damages.
Jessica Francisco, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, declined to comment.
Lorig started at Bear Stearns in 1979 and co-founded its futures department, according to a death notice. He was a partner and senior managing director at the firm until its acquisition, selling financial futures to institutional investors such as Fidelity Investments and Aetna Inc.
