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JUDGE RULES AGAINST TURKISH BANKS
Glendale News Press, CA
April 12 2013
Those that seized land during Armenian Genocide can be sued in U.S.
By Daniel Siegal, [email protected] April 12, 2013 | 4:26 p.m.
A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the federal court system
has jurisdiction to hold Turkish banks accountable for seizing land
from Armenians during the Armenian Genocide.
This ruling was attached to judge Dolly M. Gee's dismissal of a lawsuit
brought against the Central Bank of Turkey and T.C. Ziraat Bankasi,
which is a Turkish agricultural bank, as well as the Republic of
Turkey seeking roughly $65 million in damages.
Rajika Shah, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said that
despite the dismissal, the judge's ruling handed down late last month
was important because it established that if a government takes its
own citizens' property during human-rights violations, it isn't immune
from being sued in the U.S. courts.
The lawsuit was filed in the fall of 2010 by three descendants of
Armenian Genocide victims seeking compensation for land they claim
was illegally seized when Ottoman Turks drove Armenians from the
Adana region of southern Turkey during the 1915-1923 genocide.
Shah said the plaintiffs will likely file an appeal with the U.S. 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals by April 25.
Gee dismissed the case under the "political question" doctrine,
which is applied when a matter should be handled by the executive or
legislative branch of the government, not the courts.
Vartkes Yeghiayan, of Yeghiayan & Associates in Glendale, represented
the plaintiffs and has previously pursued multiple lawsuits seeking
compensation for Armenian Genocide victims.
Yeghiayan was on a legal team that in 2005 brought a lawsuit that
resulted in a $17.5-million compensation fund, set up to pay claims
that two insurance companies failed to compensate descendants of
Armenian Genocide victims who bought policies.
The law firm of Schwarcz, Rimberg, Boyd, and Rader also represented the
three plaintiffs - Alex Bakalian of Washington D.C., Anais Haroutunian
of Pasadena and Rita Mahdessian of La Crescenta.
Mahdessian, who is Yeghiayan's wife, is a lawyer with Yeghiayan &
Associates.
Lucy Varpetian, senior assistant city atty. for Glendale, said that
these types of lawsuits matter not only to the plaintiffs, but for the
Armenian community as a whole when they can hold Turkish institutions
accountable.
"It's an important issue because, with the genocide commemorations
coming up, I think these issues continue to haunt the community and
at least they're finding some degree of peace," Varpetian said.
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-0412-judge-rules-against-turkish-banks,0,6374672.story
Glendale News Press, CA
April 12 2013
Those that seized land during Armenian Genocide can be sued in U.S.
By Daniel Siegal, [email protected] April 12, 2013 | 4:26 p.m.
A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the federal court system
has jurisdiction to hold Turkish banks accountable for seizing land
from Armenians during the Armenian Genocide.
This ruling was attached to judge Dolly M. Gee's dismissal of a lawsuit
brought against the Central Bank of Turkey and T.C. Ziraat Bankasi,
which is a Turkish agricultural bank, as well as the Republic of
Turkey seeking roughly $65 million in damages.
Rajika Shah, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said that
despite the dismissal, the judge's ruling handed down late last month
was important because it established that if a government takes its
own citizens' property during human-rights violations, it isn't immune
from being sued in the U.S. courts.
The lawsuit was filed in the fall of 2010 by three descendants of
Armenian Genocide victims seeking compensation for land they claim
was illegally seized when Ottoman Turks drove Armenians from the
Adana region of southern Turkey during the 1915-1923 genocide.
Shah said the plaintiffs will likely file an appeal with the U.S. 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals by April 25.
Gee dismissed the case under the "political question" doctrine,
which is applied when a matter should be handled by the executive or
legislative branch of the government, not the courts.
Vartkes Yeghiayan, of Yeghiayan & Associates in Glendale, represented
the plaintiffs and has previously pursued multiple lawsuits seeking
compensation for Armenian Genocide victims.
Yeghiayan was on a legal team that in 2005 brought a lawsuit that
resulted in a $17.5-million compensation fund, set up to pay claims
that two insurance companies failed to compensate descendants of
Armenian Genocide victims who bought policies.
The law firm of Schwarcz, Rimberg, Boyd, and Rader also represented the
three plaintiffs - Alex Bakalian of Washington D.C., Anais Haroutunian
of Pasadena and Rita Mahdessian of La Crescenta.
Mahdessian, who is Yeghiayan's wife, is a lawyer with Yeghiayan &
Associates.
Lucy Varpetian, senior assistant city atty. for Glendale, said that
these types of lawsuits matter not only to the plaintiffs, but for the
Armenian community as a whole when they can hold Turkish institutions
accountable.
"It's an important issue because, with the genocide commemorations
coming up, I think these issues continue to haunt the community and
at least they're finding some degree of peace," Varpetian said.
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-0412-judge-rules-against-turkish-banks,0,6374672.story