CONTACTS:
Brian Kabateck
Mark Geragos
Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP
Geragos & Geragos
213-217-5000 213 625-3900
[email protected]
[email protected]
Dian e Zakian Rumbaugh Vartkes Yeghiayan
Rumbaugh Public Relations Yeghiayan & Associates
805-493-2877
818-242-7400
rumbaugh@ear thlink.net
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE September 26, 2006
ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
APPLAUD GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER’S SIGNING OF SB 1524
LOS ANGELES, CALIF.–Attorneys representing the heirs of
Armenian Genocide victims whose family assets were inappropriately held
for decades by German banks are welcoming yesterday’s signing by
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California Senate Bill 1524. The law
enables families to seek legal action to recover assets lost or stolen
as a result of the American Genocide.
The attorneys, all of Armenian decent, are Brian Kabateck,
partner with Kabateck Brown Kellner, Mark Geragos, partner with Geragos
& Geragos and Vartkes Yeghiayan of Yeghiayan and Associates. The
attorneys filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Deutsche Bank and
Dresdner Bank, two German banks they say wrongfully held Armenian assets
and froze Armenian bank accounts during the Armenian Genocide that began
in 1915. (Varoujan Deirmenjian, et. al. v. Deutsche Bank, A.G., Dresdner
Bank, A.G., et. al., Case No. CV 06-00774, U.S. District Court, Central
District of California).
Under the new law, Armenian Genocide victims, heirs or beneficiaries who
live in California can bring or continue a court action against a
financial institution for its failure to pay or turn over deposited or
looted assets. The statute of limitation for filing a claim is December
31, 2016.
"Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank were approached by Turkish
leaders to store Armenian artwork, gold and other valuables that were
illegally seized by the Turks during the Armenian Genocide," says
Kabateck. "The assets and the money deposited by Armenians in these
banks mysteriously disappeared and were considered lost for decades.
With most of the rightful owners massacred, these banks apparently
thought they could get away with stealing family assets from an entire
generation of Armenians. A new generation of Armenians has set out to
right this wrong."
"We applaud Gov. Schwarzenegger’s efforts to recognize the
atrocities of the Armenian Genocide and to hold accountable those who
benefited from the terrible acts that occurred so long ago," says
Geragos.
The class action suit estimates that the banks took more
than $22.5 million in looted assets, based on 1915 dollars. "We assume
banks have a fiduciary duty to ensure its customers’ deposited assets
and securities are protected," says Yeghiayan. "This duty was ignored
for 90 years by the German banks. This new law will shine a light on a
shameful act of wrongdoing and greed."
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