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  • Genocide Victims Lose Court Case

    GENOCIDE VICTIMS LOSE COURT CASE
    By Christopher Cadelago

    Glendale News Press
    http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/20 09/08/25/politics/gnp-courtreact082509.txt
    Aug 25 2009
    CA

    Two of three judges vote to nullify state law giving heirs the right
    to sue for unpaid benefits.

    DOWNTOWN -- A state law allowing heirs of victims of the Armenian
    genocide to sue in state courts for unpaid insurance benefits was
    deemed unconstitutional last week by a federal appeals court, setting
    off a wave of local reaction.

    A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on
    Thursday nullified the state law that allowed descendants of Armenian
    genocide victims killed by the Ottoman Empire to request payment on
    the life-insurance policies of relatives.

    The panel said in its 2-1 decision that the law amounted to
    unconstitutional interfering in U.S. foreign policy. The same panel
    one day prior used similar reasoning to strike down a state law meant
    to aid the inheritors of artwork allegedly stolen by Nazis. Both
    of the laws extended the statute of limitations to file claims to
    Dec. 31, 2010.

    Thursday's decision was based on a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling
    that invalidated a state law designed to help Holocaust survivors
    collect on World War II-era insurance policies.

    Three times Congress has considered resolutions in the last decade
    that would have provided recognition of the Armenian Genocide. But the
    White House each time urged that the bills be foiled, fearing that
    their passage would damage relations with Turkey, whose government
    denies that a genocide took place.

    "Our position is it's not just a stretch, it's bordering on ludicrous,"
    said Brian S. Kabateck, a Los Angeles lawyer representing the
    plaintiffs, and whose maternal grandparents died in the genocide. "I
    think these judges -- the two judges that ruled against us -- saw
    it wrong."

    Prior Armenian genocide cases yielded significant agreements, including
    a 2004 settlement in which New York Life Insurance Co. agreed to pay
    $20 million and a 2005 settlement in which AXA S.A. agreed to pay
    $17 million.

    Armenian descendants last year filed a class-action against Aviva PLC,
    a British firm, and another suit is pending against Deutsche Bank.

    Glendale priest Vazken Movsesian of St. Peter Armenian Church --
    joined by the thousands of Armenians whose relatives were among the
    1.5 million killed between 1915 and 1923 -- filed their case six years
    ago. The group sought a settlement of claims under policies issued by
    German insurers Victoria Versicherung and Ergo Versicherungsgruppe,
    as well as parent company Munchener Ruckversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG.

    The plaintiffs scored a partial victory two years ago when
    U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder said the law passed in 2000
    by the California Legislature gave the descendants standing to sue.

    The appellate court, however, reversed that decision.

    "The federal government has made a conscious decision not to apply
    the politically charged label of 'genocide' to the deaths of these
    Armenians during World War I," said Judge David R. Thompson, who
    wrote the majority opinion in Thursday's rulings. "Whether or not
    California agrees with this decision, it may not contradict it."

    Neil Soltman, lawyer for one of the insurance companies, maintains the
    ruling was consistent with past decisions overturning state efforts
    to adopt legislation that interferes with the national government's
    foreign policy.

    Because the ruling does not apply retroactively, none of the California
    residents paid as part of earlier settlements must refund the money.

    Genocide of Armenians during World War I has yet to be recognized
    by the federal government, despite recognition by 42 states. The
    Turkish government has made no official objection to any of the
    states' resolutions.

    Rep. Adam Schiff, who as an assemblyman co-wrote the overturned
    law, said he found the court's reasoning perplexing. "It's very,
    very peculiar logic," he said. "I was very distressed to read the
    opinion, and I think it's an awful result." Kabateck, who indicated
    he would appeal, said there is no conflict between the state law and
    federal policy.

    Local members of the Armenian community expressed dismay.

    "The state has the right to reflect the will of its citizens, and in
    this case it has already reflected that with laws that were passed,"
    said Zanku Armenian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee
    Glendale chapter. "A crime was committed back in 1915. What we are
    trying to do is make sure that the U.S. government does not outsource
    its foreign policy to a foreign government, in this case, Turkey. The
    judges' decisions in essence make the same mistake as the president
    and the State Department."

    The panel Thursday said the issue was defined by George W. Bush and
    Bill Clinton when they warned that recognizing the Armenian Genocide
    would damage U.S.-Turkey relations.

    President Obama, who on the campaign trail said the nation deserves
    "a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide," stopped
    short of using the term during a trip to Turkey in April and has not
    taken a position on the court case.

    "Clearly there was political pressure brought on these judges to
    rule the way they did," Armenian said. "If the U.S. says 'enough,'
    what's going to happen? The Turkish denial machine would crumble;
    it would force them to start dealing with the truth."
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