SURPRISE REVELATIONS AT GENOCIDE CLAIMANT HEARING
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
Asbarez
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012
AXA Insurance Company
$2.1 Million available for Genocide victims’ compensation
LOS ANGELES-Another hearing took place in Federal Judge Christina A.
Snyder’s court on Monday, June 11 in the ongoing lawsuit that has
pitted against one another attorneys (Mark Geragos/Brian Kabateck vs.
Vartkes Yeghiayan) who once jointly fought the French insurance
company AXA to secure payment to the heirs of genocide victims who
had bought life insurance policies from that company.
The most important news at this session, based on the attorneys’
presentations to the court, is that Berj Boyajian, another attorney,
has deposited into his account at Pacific Western Bank 17 checks
from the AXA settlement fund totaling over $312,000 that were not
made out to him.
There is a desire to pursue questions arising from this revelation
and the court’s authorization to compel relevant individuals to
answer questions. However, the judge revealed, as required, that her
husband, also an attorney, had represented Boyajian in the past. Before
proceeding, she wants to be certain that she is not in a conflicted
position. A telephone status conference was set for June 26 regarding
this matter.
Parsegh Kartalian was deposed as had been determined at a previous
hearing. He was the administrator who ran the claim evaluation and
distribution process of the millions of dollars that AXA was required
to pay to the rightful recipients of the insurance policies’ payouts.
With respect to Boyajian, he had consulted that attorney, but stated
that the latter had no authority in the distribution process.
The accounting firm that was to have been hired to audit the claims
that were paid out has done much of its work. It is Holthouse, Carlin,
and Van Trigt, LLP. They have found some $2.1 million payables, which
the judge authorized to proceed with. According to documents filed
with the court, this leaves approximately $700,000 in the settlement
fund. All 13,000 claim files have been moved from Geragos’ offices
to Loyola Law School, the neutral location chosen in accordance with
decisions at a previous hearing.
Near the end of his remarks to the court, Roman Silberfeld, Yeghiayan’s
attorney, requested confirmation from the court regarding his response
to inquiries (naming one from Vram Yegparian- see disclosure below)
about the status of those claimants who had been denied. He has
been replying that the whole claims evaluation process is not being
reopened, only discrepancies are being corrected. Geragos stated that
he, too, has been providing the same response to such inquiries.
The next hearing is scheduled for August 27 at 11:45. This was the
fourth hearing scheduled since I last reported on this matter, with
one cancelled. I have attended two of them.
In the interest of full disclosure, my family is an AXA claimant. The
claim was denied. No explanation was given.