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Armenian Groups Receive Payments

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  • Armenian Groups Receive Payments

    Armenian Groups Receive Payments
    By Rachana Rathi, Times Staff Writer

    Los angeles Times
    March 1, 2005

    Three local Armenian civic organizations received $333,333 each
    Monday as part of a $20-million settlement of a lawsuit by New York
    Life Insurance Co.

    In all, $3 million was split among nine Armenian organizations,
    including the Armenian Church of North America Western Diocese in
    Burbank, the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Los
    Angeles and the Armenian Educational Foundation in Glendale.

    "The organizations that were selected were charities that helped
    people like my grandparents get started, get a new life, feed them,
    clothe them," said Brian S. Kabateck, an attorney of Armenian descent
    who worked on the case. "Today was a way to repay them for the way
    they helped Armenians who arrived in this country after the genocide."

    About 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Turks between 1915
    and 1923, and tens of thousands were deported.

    The lawsuit, filed by heirs of Armenian genocide victims, accused the
    insurance company of failing to honor valid claims. Of the remaining
    $17 million, $4 million was allotted for attorney's fees, $2 million
    for administrative fees and $11 million for individual claims.

    Any unclaimed money will be distributed to Armenian charities, said
    Paul Krekorian, a member of the three-person board appointed by
    California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in late September
    to evaluate claims.

    About 770 claims were submitted since the settlement, but not all of
    them have been validated, according to its administrator.

    The claims typically range from $15,000 to $20,000, according to
    Kabateck.

    New York Life published a list of more than 2,400 policies issued to
    Armenians in the Ottoman Empire before 1915 that were not paid.

    Descendants who haven't already filed a claim for a portion of the
    settlement must do so by March 16.
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