Christ Church, JPMorgan settle lawsuit over lost millions

Christ Church Cathedral’s lawsuit against its former investment banker is over.

The Indianapolis church has settled the year-old lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase Bank of mismanaging the church’s considerable wealth.

The settlement comes three months after a federal judge tossed out most of the counts filed by the church against the bank.

Terms of the settlement weren’t revealed by either side. Notice of the settlement appeared Friday on the case’s docket.

The Episcopal church on Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis alleged that nearly $13 million in church investments were wasted between 2004 and 2013 because of mismanagement and exorbitant banking fees by the New York bank. Its Indianapolis banking center in Chase Tower also fronts the Circle, two doors down from the church.

The church said its trusts dipped in value from a high of $39 million to under $27 million during the bank’s management. That 10-year period was marked by a severe stock market downturn.

A spokeswoman for the bank wouldn’t comment. An attorney for the church, Linda Pence, didn’t immediately respond.

The lawsuit said the bank “used millions of dollars of church funds to purchase from itself clearly unsuitable investments for the church including private equity funds, structured notes, hedge funds, and other proprietary funds, many of which had no track record of success and were doomed to fail.”

The bank also was accused of depositing most church money in proprietary JPMorgan funds and other investment products, which generated higher fees for the bank than non-JPMorgan investment products.

Christ Church’s rich endowment comes in large part from Eli Lilly Jr., grandson of the founder of drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. He grew up in the small stone church, served as a church lay leader, and bequeathed it a hefty share of his fortune when he died in 1977.

Call Star reporter Jeff Swiatek at (317) 444-6483. Follow him on Twitter: @JeffSwiatek.