Attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan Awarded with Papal Medal

By MassisPost
Updated: October 23, 2013

Glendale attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan was recently bestowed with a
unique papal medal (cavaleri) by the hand of Archbishop Raphael
Minassian at the Armenian diocese in Yerevan. The medal had been
awarded by the retired and venerable Pope Benedict XVI in recognition
for Yeghiayan’s work and endeavors to secure compensation for Armenian
Genocide heirs.

Vartkes Yeghiayan is an Armenian-American attorney specializing in
international law. Yeghiayan is known for launching several lawsuits
against insurance companies for insurance policies issued to Armenians
in the early twentieth century during the time of the Armenian
Genocide.

After gathering evidence and finding several descendants of the
victims of the Genocide, in 1999 he filed a class action lawsuit
against New York Life in a case which lasted for four years. In
January 2004, New York Life agreed to settle by paying $20 million to
the plaintiffs. Since then Yeghiayan, along with colleagues Mark
Geragos and Brian Kabateck, have filed suits against other insurance
companies, including AXA, which agreed to settle in 2005 by paying
$17.5 million.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress