Glendale News Press, CA
Dec 18 2011

Armenian Genocide law goes back to court

Panel of 11 judges will rehear case against insurers and their parent company.

By Mark Kellam mark.kellam@latimes.com
December 18, 2011

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.

A three-judge panel with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had
upheld the statute late last year, reversing its own initial decision
to dismiss the case.

This time, an 11-judge panel for the appellate court will rehear the
case against two German insurers and their parent company.

Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire.

In their challenge of the law, the parent insurance company and the
Republic of Turkey claim that because the United States doesn’t
officially recognize the genocide, states should be prohibited from
doing so.

The government of Turkey has denied that a genocide occurred.

Two legal briefs have been filed with the court from California and
four other states, as well as legislative representatives, defending
the rights of states to pass laws referring to the Armenian Genocide.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress