On a cold February evening, the Armenian version of Erin Brokovich came to London. Dr. Vartkes Yeghiayan came with news of how he was taking on the Big Guys the Big Corporate Insurance companies. He captured the audience's imagination with stories of corporate dealings, conferences, paper chases, family reunions and the fight for justice. How and why was he doing this? Well, in a nutshell, Dr Vartkes Yeghiayan was claiming the money back for all those life insurance policies that were taken out by Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the years preceding the Armenian Genocide, roughly between 1900-1920. As you can imagine, there were seemingly insurmountable hurdles to jump, not to mention that all the pertinent information was probably lost in someone's attic or in a huge archive in the back of beyond. However, Dr Yeghiayan told a fascinating story of hope, determination and justice.

To begin with, Dr Yeghiayan told us how he came to be interested in the Genocide Insurance policies. He got a tip off from the Henry Morgenthau Diaries, which he read from cover to cover the moment it was published. Apparently, on several occasions Talaat Pasha, in 1916, tried to obtain a list of all those Armenians who had American insurance policies on the basis that as they were killed in the Genocide, they would have no heirs etc, so the money should revert to the state. The talk focused on the New York Life Company, which had been operating in Turkey for over 20 years at the time. If New York Life had agreed to settle at the time, all other Life Insurance companies would have followed suit. So Dr Yeghiayan, being a lawyer and a dedicated Armenian, saw an opportunity to get some justice. This justice, fortunately, would not involve any discussion on the Genocide, which if it did would undoubtedly mean that Turkey's feathers would be ruffled (pardon the pun). So by avoiding the political dimension, Dr Yeghiayan got on the case and made some phone calls.

Dr. Yeghiayan uncovered a tangled web of diplomacy, finance and tragic human stories. It all started at the beginning of the last century when New York Life had been seeking clients from those involved with the American Missionaries and educational establishments in the Ottoman Empire. As Muslims considered Life Insurance a form of gambling, Armenians were the main clients. Armenians also had the money and foresight to take advantage of these policies. From documents gathered, Dr Yeghiayan told us that, for instance, there were roughly 7,671 policies with New York Life with an estimated cover of $10, 281,134. A healthy sum, by anyone's standards.

When the First World War erupted in 1914, the insurance companies left Turkey, so New York Life followed suit. As a result Armenians who still wanted to pay their premiums went to the US Embassy. They paid in their money, which was transferred to the US and eventually paid to New York Life. The tenacity of those Armenians meant that a century later we could investigate how much they had paid, and precisely when, in the Federal Archives. Dr Yeghiayan followed this paper trail of up to 10,000 documents to gather his evidence of who had paid all the money and where it had gone.

Now that he had some evidence, he needed a victim. Unfortunately for any action to be brought in court, a victim needs to bring that action. After lengthy publicity Martin Maroutian was found. Maroutian and his family had corresponded with New York Life for a considerable period but had not made any progress regarding their claim. As always, they were given the run around. Now that a claimant was found, a class action lawsuit could be filed. Time was running out as Maroutian was 90 and not in good health, if he passed away, the lawsuit would be dropped.

Dr Yeghiayan, now having a victim, filed a class action lawsuit meaning that Maroutian would represent a class of people who are entitled to receive their benefits of the insurance policy, by being the heirs of the original policy holders. Publicity helped again, and many people brought documents to claim they were entitled. This lawsuit was looking healthier by the day. There were plenty of hurdles left though.

The first hurdle that Dr. Yeghiayan had to climb, jump over and side step was the Statute of Limitations, which prevents lawsuits being brought after a certain period of time. For the Genocide policies, this time had run out. So, like a true determined lawyer (or Armenian?), Yeghiayan changed the law, well amended it anyway. Through various contacts, meetings and a whole lot of guts Dr Yeghiayan managed to get the Californian State legislature to pass an act to enable Genocide Policy actions to be brought until 2010. Yeghiayan could now start.

The lawsuit was lodged in November 1999 in a Los Angeles Federal Court with Judge Christine Schneider presiding. Dr Yeghiayan presented 2,300 pages of legal argument for the class action to be accepted. New York Life claimed that the policies had a low residual value and secondly that there were no others in a similar situation for form a class action. The judge went with Dr Yeghiayan and allowed the lawsuit, giving time to both parties to negotiate a settlement, which is the usual outcome of these types of cases. On top of the policy benefits, Dr Yeghiayan was granted the right to claim for the proceeds of investments made with the money that should have been given to the Armenians. This was done under the legal concept of a 'constructive' trust, which for a law student like me is mouth-watering stuff. Dr Yeghiayan was also granted punitive damages.

All in all, the settlement would obviously rest on two issues. How much money would be paid and to whom. Dr Yeghiayan could not elaborate on any of these points, as he was still in the later stages of negotiation with New York Life. As a law student though, I would hazard a guess that the damages would be from anywhere between $1 billion to $50 billion. Just a ballpark figure mind. And those entitled to the pay out would depend on whom they could find. So reader, if you haven't been rummaging in your attic by now, go for it. Any documents relevant to an Insurance policy may entitle you to a share of the pot.

So, the case continues. This case is only for one of the Insurance companies operating in Ottoman Turkey. Dr Yeghiayan was in Europe to start investigating the other 59 Life Assurance companies that were operating in Ottoman Turkey at the time, including British, French, German companies. So again, if you the reader, have any documents relating to any insurance policy, or any other documents get cracking. Talk to your Granddad and Grandma to see if they remember anything. Get rummaging. This is your opportunity to be part of Armenian Legal History.

If you have any queries or any information, please email me via Hokis at greg@hokis.co.uk

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