Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP Commences Class Action Lawsuit Against JP Morgan Chase & Co

Business Wire, March 27, 2002

Business Editors & Legal Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2002

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP announces that it filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of JP Morgan Chase & Co., Inc. ("J.P. Morgan" or the "Company") (NYSE: JPM - news) securities between March 22, 2001 and February 1, 2002, inclusive, (the "Class Period") against defendants JP Morgan Chase & Co.

The case name and index number are Turbowitz v. JP Morgan Chase & Co., 02-CV-2336. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court or can be viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at http://www.whafh.com.

The Complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period that had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of the Company's securities.

JP Morgan's business includes the well-established procedure of making commodities loan transactions, derivative loan transactions, and other transactions that were created to provide "off the books" financing for its borrowers. These creative business arrangements were essentially loan transactions masked as other kinds of financial agreements. JP Morgan was subject to large credit risks, substantial risks of refusal to repay and even greater risks of liability to the debtor and third parties resulting from those transactions.

The Complaint alleges that false and misleading statements and disclosures were released to the investing public in SEC filings, including the Company's 2000 Annual Report which was filed on March 22, 2001 (the first day of the Class Period) and press releases.

In one instance, on November 21, 2001, the Company wantonly released a public statement which failed to completely describe its risk and loss exposure as a result of the business practices related to its transactions and dealings with the Enron Corporation ("Enron"), the company by now infamous for its financial collapse. At the time, the Company disclosed its total exposure regarding Enron at nearly $900 million. Further into the Class Period, the Company affirmed that, in fact, its aggregate Enron-related exposure was in fact approximately $2.6 billion due to the risks from the business practices alleged above. This $2.6 billion figure was nearly three times the previous figure reported by the Company.

Moreover, pursuant to the Enron debacle, federal authorities are now judging and questioning the true measure of the Company's undisclosed risks, in order to precisely assess whether the substantial augmentation in JP Morgan's primary understated exposure in Enron will be repeated in the Company's exposure with other companies to which JP Morgan has made loans masked as commodity or derivative transactions.

If you purchased JP Morgan securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may, no later than April 16, 2002, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wolf Haldenstein, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 60 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in Chicago, New Jersey, New York City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP at 270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, by telephone at (800) 575-0735 (Fred Taylor Isquith, Esq., Gustavo Bruckner, Esq., Michael Miske, George Peters, or Derek Behnke), via e-mail at classmember@whafh.com or visit our website at http://www.whafh.com. Your e-mail should refer to JP Morgan.