A class action lawsuit involving the nearly century-old Armenia genocide has been cleared to proceed in U.S. federal court after a panel of appellate judges reversed its own decision from last year.

 

Lead plaintiff Vazken Movsesian and other Californian Armenians filed their lawsuit in 2003 against two German insurers owned by Munich Re. Seeking damages for bad faith, breach of contract and constructive trust, the plaintiffs relied on a California law giving genocide victims until the end of 2010 to file insurance claims.

 

The mass extermination of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire occurred between 1915 and 1923. No official death toll exists, but estimates range from half a million to 1.5 million people.

 

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiffs in 2009, arguing that federal policy forbade California from recognizing the genocide. In its new ruling, the court cited “the number of expressions of federal executive and legislative support for recognition of the Armenian genocide” and decided to allow the case to proceed.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Court Revives Armenians' Suit for Genocide Benefits (Tim Hull, Courthouse News Service)

Ninth Circuit Rejects Armenian Genocide Suit (by Annie Youderian, Courthouse News Service)