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.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Ousted Ind. official sentenced in voter fraud case
Indiana's ousted top elections official was sentenced Thursday to a year
of home detention for six felony convictions that a judge refused to
reduce to lesser crimes — a ruling that, if upheld on appeal, will
likely cost him not only his office but also his law license and
livelihood.
Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation said the intentional disregard that Secretary of State Charlie White showed for the law outweighed portrayals of him as a loving father and husband. The judge refused to reduce the six felony convictions to misdemeanors that would have given the 42-year-old Republican a chance to hold onto his office.
"I believe he violated the trust of the people," Nation said.
White told the judge he would appeal the one year's detention on each of the six felonies, to be served concurrently, and Nation stayed the sentence pending that. The judge also fined White $1,000 and ordered him to serve 30 hours of community service.
But White, his wife, and his attorney said his legal problems have cost him much more than part of his freedom and his political and legal career. Defense attorney Carl Brizzi said White and his wife, Michelle, have stopped making mortgage payments on the condo that was at the heart of his legal troubles and likely will lose ownership of it. White said his assets have dwindled to whatever equity he might have in the home and small stock and bank accounts and a 5-year-old, beat-up Jaguar automobile.
Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation said the intentional disregard that Secretary of State Charlie White showed for the law outweighed portrayals of him as a loving father and husband. The judge refused to reduce the six felony convictions to misdemeanors that would have given the 42-year-old Republican a chance to hold onto his office.
"I believe he violated the trust of the people," Nation said.
White told the judge he would appeal the one year's detention on each of the six felonies, to be served concurrently, and Nation stayed the sentence pending that. The judge also fined White $1,000 and ordered him to serve 30 hours of community service.
But White, his wife, and his attorney said his legal problems have cost him much more than part of his freedom and his political and legal career. Defense attorney Carl Brizzi said White and his wife, Michelle, have stopped making mortgage payments on the condo that was at the heart of his legal troubles and likely will lose ownership of it. White said his assets have dwindled to whatever equity he might have in the home and small stock and bank accounts and a 5-year-old, beat-up Jaguar automobile.
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