Genocide Victims

As we approach the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the "Week of Remembrance" commemorating that event, it is with hope that the turnout at the various scheduled events will generate interest from all segments of the community. The commemoration of the Armenian Genocide is of great significance to the Armenian community. Youth groups, community leaders and residents gather to acknowledge and mourn the loss of 1.5 million lives during a 1915 conflict with the forces of the Ottoman Turkish empire.

DOWNTOWN — A California 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.

Rep. Adam Schiff -- a longtime supporter of efforts to officially recognize the Armenian genocide -- called the decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday to nullify lawsuits against German insurance companiesseeking payouts on victims' policies "flawed. " The court ruled unanimously that decendents of genocide victims who took out policies from 1875 to 1923 cannot sue foreign companies because only the federal government has the power to bring them to U.S. courts.

Survivors of Armenian genocide victims can't sue German insurance companies for failing to pay claims on their ancestors because only the federal government has the power to bring foreign entities to U.S. courts, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The 11-0 ruling by the full court dismissing the lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago probably puts an end to efforts by the genocide victims' descendants to compel German companies to pay off on policies sold to the victims from 1875 to 1923.

Politicians and members of the local community Friday expressed disappointment with a federal appellate court ruling this week that survivors of Armenian genocide victims cannot sue German insurance companies for not paying claims on policies purchased by their ancestors. In its 11-0 ruling, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Vazken Movsesian, a priest at St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale, on behalf of a group of Southern Californian Armenian Americans about 10 years ago. A few years before the lawsuit was filed, the state Legislature passed a law that allowed courts in California to consider claims from those unpaid insurance policies.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Armenian activists insisted Wednesday that a recent federal appeals court ruling would not stop them from seeking payments from life insurance companies on the policies of those killed in the Armenian Genocide. Representatives from the Armenian National Committee and Armenian Youth Federation, among other groups, assured attendees during a town hall meeting at St. Mary’s Apostolic Church that the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, which number in the thousands, would win a favorable decision from the court as the group fights a recent legal hurdle.

The Armenian Youth Federation is sponsoring a concert to bring attention and funds for the Save Dafur Coalition. Ani Garibyan and Soseh Esmaeili, members of the federation, spoke at the Glendale Unified School District about the event. "We are descendants of genocide," Garibyan said. She referred to the Armenian genocide that happened during WWI, where over a million Armenians were killed at the hands of the Turkish military. The concert is a way to help others who are now in the midst of genocide, Garibyan said.

A bill that would require California-based companies to certify that they do not “wrongfully hold” assets that belonged to victims of genocide advanced to the state Assembly’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. AB 961, submitted by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, would also prohibit companies from contracting with the state if they can’t prove their compliance. The so-called Justice for Genocide Victims bill unanimously passed the Business and Professions Committee on Tuesday during the main week of genocide remembrance events throughout the world.

PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS Members of the Gypsy Folk Ensemble visited the Grandview branch of the Glendale Public Library on Thursday, toting with them myriad tidbits of information about foreign countries and folk dances. In between musical numbers -- in which the dancers clapped, swirled their skirts and spun around each other -- ensemble members would teach the children about the history of folk dances and different customs in foreign nations.

Those tending the flame of those who perished in the Armenian Genocide had a bit of a mixed bag this week. In happy news, Glendale Unified and its teachers' union agreed to make April 24 - the day that commemorates the horror - an official day off. This agreement makes a lot of sense for all involved. Students of Armenian descent have skipped going to class on that day for years, and as public school funding is significantly based on attendance, making the day a holiday of sorts is an elegant end-around of this problem.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), lead sponsor of the Armenian genocide resolution in Congress, delivered his remarks in Armenian on the House floor Wednesday as he honored the 1.5 million Armenians who were massacred in 1915 at the hands of Ottoman Turks. His remarks come the same day that President Obama once again did not use the word “genocide” in his annual statement about the tragic event. According to his office, in his Armenian address, Schiff said: “I speak to you from the floor of the House of Representatives in the language of your grandparents and your great-grandparents - the language they used to speak of their hopes, their dreams, their lives and their loves in the years before 1915...I speak to you in the language of sons who watched their fathers murdered.” On the 98th anniversary of the genocide, Schiff pointed out that not only were Armenians murdered, Armenian women were raped by the thousands.

About $2.1 million finally will be paid out from a compensation fund for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims that had been ensnared in litigation for more than a year. During a hearing Monday, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder said if attorneys agree on the plan, checks to about 100 claimants should be cut. “Let's get that done sooner, rather than later,” she said. The deal on the payout, reached between a group of attorneys who have sparred over control and accounting of the fund, comes after the firm Holthouse, Carlin and Van Tright verified the claims.

Politicians and members of the local community Friday expressed disappointment with a federal appellate court ruling this week that survivors of Armenian genocide victims cannot sue German insurance companies for not paying claims on policies purchased by their ancestors. In its 11-0 ruling, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Vazken Movsesian, a priest at St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale, on behalf of a group of Southern Californian Armenian Americans about 10 years ago. A few years before the lawsuit was filed, the state Legislature passed a law that allowed courts in California to consider claims from those unpaid insurance policies.

Rep. Adam Schiff -- a longtime supporter of efforts to officially recognize the Armenian genocide -- called the decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday to nullify lawsuits against German insurance companiesseeking payouts on victims' policies "flawed. " The court ruled unanimously that decendents of genocide victims who took out policies from 1875 to 1923 cannot sue foreign companies because only the federal government has the power to bring them to U.S. courts.

Survivors of Armenian genocide victims can't sue German insurance companies for failing to pay claims on their ancestors because only the federal government has the power to bring foreign entities to U.S. courts, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The 11-0 ruling by the full court dismissing the lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago probably puts an end to efforts by the genocide victims' descendants to compel German companies to pay off on policies sold to the victims from 1875 to 1923.

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.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation that extends the deadline in California for victims of the Armenian genocide and their descendents to file claims on unpaid policies from European and Asian insurers. The measure, which extends the deadline through Dec. 31, 2016, was introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake). “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by me and my staff,” Gatto said. “It’s nice to see this come to fruition.” Gatto went into the community to get input before introducing the bill.

The descendants of Armenian Genocide victims won an unexpected victory Friday when a federal appeals court ruled they can sue to recoup unpaid insurance benefits tied to the atrocity. The decision by the same three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacates the August 2009 ruling that the lawsuits filed in state court were an unconstitutional intrusion into federal authority. In 2003, Vazken Movsesian, a priest at St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale, and thousands of other heirs of the 1.5 million Armenians killed between 1915 and 1923 sued several insurers in Los Angeles County Superior Court.