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Press
Release
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| New
York Federal Court Rejects Efforts by Italian Insurer Generali
and Swiss Insurer Zurich to Dismiss Claims of Holocaust
Victims for Proceeds on Nazi-Era Insurance Policies |
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New
York, NY, September 25, 2002 -- Today, Judge Michael B.
Mukasey, United States District Judge for the Southern
District of New York, rejected efforts by Italian insurer
Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. and Swiss insurer Zurich
Life Insurance Company to dismiss claims that those companies
refused to pay benefits to insurance policy beneficiaries
or their surviving family members during the German campaign
of genocide before and during World War II, known as the
Holocaust.
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| "Today's decision represents a victory for the tens
of thousands of persons whose parents or other relatives
perished in the Holocaust, and who are the potential beneficiaries
of insurance policies issued by Generali or Zurich Life",
said plaintiffs' counsel Morris A. Ratner, a partner in
the firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP,
in its New York office. |
| Defendants had sought dismissal of
the Holocaust-era
insurance litigation on the grounds that a private
commission - known as the International Commission
on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) - was
established
by several European insurance companies, governmental
entities, and non-governmental organizations ostensibly
to resolve unpaid Holocaust-era insurance claims,
and on the ground that courts of European countries
in which the policies were issued could be used to
resolve claims. The Judge rejected these arguments. |
| To
read a copy of the Court decision referred
to in this Press Release, click
here (Adobe Acrobat file,
1.5 Mb). |
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| Judge Mukasey found that the plaintiffs' choice of a
United
States court to prosecute their Nazi-era claims should
be
given deference. Further, the court found that ICHEIC is
not an adequate alternative forum for the resolution of
plaintiffs' claims. The Court held: "ICHEIC - an ad
hoc, non-judicial, private international claims tribunal
- is not entitled to the same deference as the courts or
an administrative arm of a foreign sovereign nation."
Decision, at 16. The Court held further: |
Not
only is the commission financially dependent on Zurich
and Generali, as well as its other founding members, but
there are also indications that ICHEIC's decision-making
processes are and can be controlled by the defendants
in this case - Generali and Zurich - as well as the other
ICHEIC member insurance companies.
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| Decision
at 18-19. The Court noted further that there are "questions
about ICHEIC's continued viability as a forum." Id.
at 20. |
| Lieff Cabraser has been active in Holocaust era litigation
since 1996. The firm serves as one of court-appointed settlement
class counsel in the Holocaust era litigation against Swiss
Banks that resulted in a $1.25 billion settlement for Holocaust
victims. In addition, the firm prosecuted Nazi era cases
against German, Austrian and French entities, including
corporations and banks, that were alleged to have illicitly
profited from misconduct during the Holocaust, and that
resulted in additional settlements worth more than $5 billion.
For more information about Lieff Cabraser, click
here. |
| Source: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. |
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LIEFF
CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP
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| Notice: Lieff
Cabraser attorneys provide legal advice and practice law for clients in
federal district courts throughout the United States and in state courts
where we are licensed to practice. In states in which our lawyers are not
licensed to practice, we have affiliations with local attorneys who serve
as co-counsel with our firm. Please read our disclaimer. |
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Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP
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