Genocide

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.

A federal judge on Monday gave attorneys fighting over accounting discrepancies at a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for the descendants of Armenian Genocide victims two weeks to hash out an agreement or face an extensive court-ordered audit. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder ordered attorneys Mark Geragos and Roman Silberfeld to come back on Dec. 5 with an update on how they want to address accounting discrepancies in a compensation fund set up several years ago by insurance company Axa S.A. to pay descendents of Armenian Genocide victims.

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.

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.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and other advocates for a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide are taking a new tack this year, seeking both a genocide recognition vote and approval of a measure condemning religious discrimination against Armenian Christians in Turkey. A strategic ally that allows the U.S. to operate a key military base on its soil, Turkey has been an implacable foe of official U.S. recognition of the death of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks from 1915-23.

Attorneys who have won tens of millions of dollars for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims are accusing one another in court of misusing funds or stalling payments to thousands of their clients. Mark Geragos and Brian Kabateck, two of the lead attorneys in class-action cases Armenian Americans have filed in federal court against insurers, accuse Glendale-based co-counsel Vartkes Yeghiayan and his wife, attorney Rita Mahdessian, of setting up sham charities and misusing nearly $1 million over the last six years.

I was engaged in a very interesting discussion last night about the nature of compassion and its ability to positively shift the energetic force of our world. I, for one, believe our thoughts are extremely powerful — even more so when a group of people gathers a single collective thought in their mind, especially a positive one. This isn’t to say I believe thought alone does all the work. Positive thought or intent leads to positive action, which leads to positive change. So what’s with this week’s “new-age philosophical rant,” you ask?

An expert on genocide and the Jewish Holocaust will join a long time advocate for official recognition of the Armenian Genocide Thursday on “The Larry Zarian Show” to discuss the political landscape amid the latest round of commemoration events. Wolf Gruner, history professor and Shapell-Guerin chairman in Jewish Studies at USC, is scheduled to join Harut Sassounian, publisher of Glendale-based The California Courier, to discuss the continued struggle on the national stage to get Congress to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and the implications for other genocides.