A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a novel and
controversial California law that allowed descendants of 1.5 million
Armenians who perished in Turkey nearly a century ago to file claims
against life insurance companies accused of reneging on policies.
The move came when a specially convened 11-judge panel of the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously tossed out a class action lawsuit
filed against Munich Re after two of its subsidiaries refused to pay
claims.
The ruling, written by Judge Susan Graber, said the California law
trampled on U.S. foreign policy — the exclusive jurisdiction of the
federal government.
The California Legislature labeled the Armenian deaths as genocide, a
term the Turkish government vehemently argued was wrongly applied during
a time of civil unrest in the country.
The court noted the issue is so fraught with politics that President
Obama studiously avoided using the word genocide during a commemorative
speech in April 2010 noting the Armenian deaths.
The tortured legal saga began in 2000 when the California Legislature
passed a law enabling Armenian heirs to file claims with insurance
companies for policies sold around the turn of the 20th century. It gave
the heirs until 2010 to file lawsuits over unpaid insurance benefits.
No comments:
Post a Comment