PRESS RELEASE - 05/12/2001
Law Offices of
VARTKES YEGHIAYAN
California

FEDERAL JUDGE DENIES NEW YORK LIFE'S MOTION TO DISMISS THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED BY ARMENIANS

In a major legal setback for New York Life Insurance Company, on November 28, 2001, United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder signed and finalized her decision to deny NYLIC's motion to dismiss in the class action lawsuit filed by Armenian plaintiffs. The decision followed a court hearing on October 30, 2001, wherein Judge C.A. Snyder presented a preliminary decision of denial to the opposing counsels, pending final arguments, which were delivered the same day.

" The court finds that enforcement of the forum-selection clauses in the NYLIC life insurance policies which are the subject of this action would be fundamentally unfair", the Judge concluded in her thirty one page order of denial. In its motion to dismiss for improper venue, NYLIC had argued that based on the forum selection-clauses contained in the insurance policies all legal proceedings to enforce the policies should either be brought in "London Courts" or "Civil Courts of France". In a lengthy and elaborate rebuke the Court "finds that it would (be) fundamentally unfair to enforce the forum selection clauses contained in the NYLIC policies in the face of substantial evidence that the Armenian purchasers of those policies: 1) could not travel to London or Paris; (2) could not read or understand the languages in which the policies were printed; and (3) when NYLIC has offered no evidence either that the purchasers could in fact understand the policies as written, or that the content of the policies, and specially the forum selection clauses, was communicated to the purchasers by NYLIC's agents in Armenia".

The Court was as eloquent as to the matter of the constitutionality of California Code Civil Section 354.4, entitled "The Armenian Genocide Victims Insurance Act". In its concluding paragraph the court finds that "Section 354.4 withstands constitutional scrutiny because it does not intrude on the federal government's foreign affairs power, is not impermissibly retroactive, does not violate the Contracts Clause, and because its application to NYLIC is consistent with the Due Process Clause. Therefore, section 354.4 is a valid expression of the state of California public policy that the forum-selection clauses contained in the disputed NYLIC insurance policies should not be enforced".

The hearing on October 30th followed extensive but futile last minute negotiations to settle the suit. Another unsuccessful attempt was made on October 26th, when, by order of Judge Snyder, plaintiff and defense counsels were summoned to a mediation. On both occasions, the plaintiffs categorically rejected the offers made by NYLIC. In the past six months, settlement negotiations resulted only in a minor increase of the initial offer of $10 million, which was considered far short of the true value of the case in the eyes of the plaintiffs.

Since the filing of this class action lawsuit in November 1999, by attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan of Glendale California , in April 2001 attorney Mark Geragos joined the team of plaintiff attorneys as the lead counsel.

The class action lawsuit states that between 1895 and 1915, New York Life targeted ethnic Armenians in Turkey for the sale of life insurance policies. An estimated 7000 policies were purchased. Many of these Armenian policyholders perished as a result of the genocidal policy perpetrated by the Turkish government against the Armenian people. Heirs of most of the New York Life policyholders who were killed in the Genocide were never paid benefits.

Among a few dozen named plaintiffs, Martin Marootian is the lead plaintiff who initiated the suit. Marootian's uncle purchased a policy in 1910 worth 3000 FF. In June 1915, his uncle, aunt and their children were massacred. For more then 75 years the Marootian family has tried to collect the insurance benefit, to no avail.