Turkey Stole Insurance Money From Genocide Victims
Financial
After killing an estimated 1.5 million Armenians during World War I, the government of Turkey had the nerve to demand the benefits from its victims' insurance policies, the victims' descendants say in a class action against four British insurance companies. The plaintiffs cite contemporary files in which one insurer comments to another that the government of Turkey is not only murdering Armenians, but "then proceeding to collect his policy money!"
Class members Raffi Baghtchedjian and Nisan Papazyan say more than 10,000 of the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed during the genocide had insurance policies with the defendant companies.
They cite this 1919 letter from the general manager of Norwich Union to New York Life Insurance Co.: "I gather from the advises of your Head Office that in characteristic fashion the Turkish Government have shown some tendency to consider the propriety first of murdering the Armenian and his dependents and then proceeding to collec[ting] his policy money! The brazenness of such an attitude is of course beyond all comment and I should not have been inclined to attach much weight to the rumors were it not that I understand the subject is one which is having your own full attention in conjunction with the French Offices interested in the Levant. We should certainly wish to be associated with the protest which is no doubt contemplated against such a monstrous proposal, should the latter really be serious, and I shall accordingly value a word from you as to the position."
The complaint cites a second letter from Norwich Union mentioning "the remarkable and characteristic attitude which Turkey is understood to be taking in regard to insurance on the lives of those whom she has murdered."
Named as defendants are Aviva, a successor to Norwich Union; Commercial Union; CGNU; and General Accident, all of Great Britain.
The plaintiffs want compensatory and punitive damages, costs and fees. They are represented in Federal Court by Vartkes Yeghiayan.
Related listings
-
Receiver Says Moviemaker Defrauded Bayou Hedge Fund
Financial 09/16/2008Kroll Inc., the court-appointed receiver for the defunct Bayou Hedge Fund, sued movie producer Steven Brown, claiming he used more than $3 million that should have gone to repay Bayou's investment in a new movie. Kroll also sued the attorney who help...
-
Bear Stearns Will Pay $28 Million
Financial 09/10/2008Bear Stearns and subsidiary EMC Mortgage on Tuesday agreed to pay $28 million in settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, on charges of defrauding tens of thousands of home loan customers and violating four sets of federal laws. "The companies v...
-
Janus Shells Out $18 Million, on SEC Orders
Financial 08/19/2008Janus Capital Management, an investment advisor to Janus Mutual Funds, reimbursed $18 million to more than 325,000 defrauded shareholders late last week as a first step in paying back more than $100 million, as ordered by the Securities and Exchange ...
Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.