Armenian Genocide

A federal appeals court will rehear a challenge to a California law that has resulted in lawsuits against insurance companies on behalf of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The state law, passed in 2000, extends the statute of limitations for life insurance claims that were never paid out to descendants of Armenian Genocide victims. California residents originally were given a deadline of Dec. 31, 2010, but legislation introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) extended it to Dec. 31, 2016.

An accounting firm will review 178 insurance claims as part of a deal struck in a case involving a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims, attorneys announced Monday. Lawyers Mark Geragos and Roman Silberfeld, who sit on opposing sides of a dispute regarding the fund, said claims for $10,000 or more will be examined to make sure there were no accounting discrepancies. Originally, Silberfeld's client, Glendale-based attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, had sought an audit of all 1,300 claims made to a compensation fund set up by France-based insurer Axa S.A. to check for problems.

I truly love my job. It has provided me with numerous experiences that would have been laughably improbable, were it not for my position. This week marked another one of those occasions: I had a personal audience with a spiritual leader of the Armenian church, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I. The pontiff, who resides in Lebanon, arrived in the United States on Oct. 6 and is staying through early next week. Though not an elderly man - he's in his mid 60s - Aram I's energy belies his white hair and beard.

A planned parade for an Ottoman military marching band in Hollywood has been canceled amid uproar from Armenian groups who said the event was an affront to the genocidal murders that took place in 1915. Ottoman-Turks killed roughly 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the first modern-day genocide. Turkey has refused to acknowledge the massacre as genocide. The permit for the parade, scheduled for Oct. 3 on Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and La Brea avenues, was pulled Wednesday, an official at the Los Angeles Police Commission said.

A planned parade for an Ottoman military marching band in Hollywood has been canceled amid uproar from Armenian groups who said the event was an affront to them because of the genocide that began in 1915. Ottoman Turks killed roughly 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the first modern-day genocide. Turkey has refused to acknowledge the massacre as genocide. The permit for the parade, scheduled for Oct. 3 on Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and La Brea avenues, was pulled Wednesday, an official at the Los Angeles Police Commission said.

Armenian organizations are denouncing a planned performance by an Ottoman military marching band in Hollywood. The event planned for Oct. 3 on Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and La Brea avenues has drawn widespread condemnation from Armenian groups, including the Armenian Youth Federation, which plans to protest the marching band. Opponents to the march say the presence of the band, which represents the military glory of Turkey, is an affront to the largest Armenian population outside Armenia.

A U.S. district judge on Monday denied a motion to conduct an audit of a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for descendents of Armenian Genocide victims, instead ordering the account administrator to explain payout discrepancies. Glendale-based attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan had sought the independent audit after discovering that a fund established by insurance carrier Axa S.A. contained nearly $2.5 million more than originally thought. But U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said the audit would cost too much time and money and was unnecessary if Glendale resident Parsegh Kartalian, the fund's administrator, could provide adequate information.

A U.S. District judge on Monday gave attorneys feuding over a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims until Aug. 8 to agree on how to proceed. A motion filed by Glendale-based attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan contends that attorneys Mark Geragos and Brian Kabateck initially reported $346,050 in the compensation fund formed by French insurer Axa S.A. Yeghiayan, who once served as co-counsel with Geragos and Kabateck on class-action lawsuits for the descendents, called for an audit after a follow-up report showed about $2.8 million in the Axa fund, according to court records.

Local Armenian-Americans last week hailed a state bill extending the deadline for victims of the Armenian Genocide and their descendants to file lawsuits in California courts for unpaid insurance policies. “Hopefully, some of the victims' families will be relieved,” said Armond Aghakhanian, political chairman of the Burbank chapter of the Armenian National Committee. “I think it's justice and I think it's our system working at its best.” Father Vazken Atmajian, senior pastor at St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale, was also pleased with the legislation.