'Generali' Insurance Claims
LEGAL
UPDATE
Court of Appeals solicits
statement from Executive Branch in Generali suit
In an unusual move, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on August 1, 2008
requested a statement from the Executive Branch on the question
of whether court adjudication of Holocaust-era insurance claims
against Italian insurance giant Generali conflicts with the
foreign policy of the United States. The request comes over two
years after plaintiffs appealed the dismissal by Federal Judge
Michael Mukasey of the long-standing suit against Generali (In re
Assicurazioni Generali, Docket No. 05-5602, et al.), and signals
that the three judge panel is grappling with the issue of executive
prerogatives and authority even in the absence of any formal
agreements between the U.S. and Italian governments.
The Court's request was directed
to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and was then forwarded for
action to the Department of Justice. The response is expected around
September 30 22, 2008.
Generali, plaintiff's attorney
Samuel Dubbin and
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), chief sponsor of H.R. 1746 -
the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act, have all submitted
comments to the administration on the matter.
UPDATE: On October 24th, three members of Congress, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(R-FL), Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), and Steve Chabot (R-OH), filed
their own Friend of the Court brief in support of survivors
appealing the 2006 Mukasey ruling on the Generali suit. On October
30, the
Department of Justice filed a brief in response to the request
of the Court of Appeals supporting the arguments of Generali.
LEGAL
UPDATE
Appeal of Generali Class
Action settlement denied
June 6, 2008: The U.S. Court of
Appeals has
denied objections & affirmed the January 2008 District Court
approval of the settlement.
LEGAL
UPDATE
Supplemental Briefs filed by
all parties in appeal of Generali Settlement
February 29, 2008:
Objectors, along with
Generali and
Plaintiffs' attorneys seeking to settle, have filed another
round of supplemental briefs with the United States Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit. The appeal of the settlement is pending.
LEGAL
UPDATE
Appeal of 'Generali' settlement
January 29, 2008: A
new legal Brief has been filed on behalf of Holocaust survivors
objecting to the Generali
Settlement in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
NEWS
UPDATE
'Generali' Holocaust
settlement
A Federal judge has
re-approved
a settlement proposed by the company and some plaintiffs that
would settle class-action suits first filed 10 years ago.
See coverage in
New York Sun and
New York Times.
SPECIAL HSF WEBSITE
FEATURE
The Generali Litigation Timeline
features links to key documents over a ten year period.
Additional documents are available
below.
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Generali
Litigation Timeline, 1997-2008
n colored boxes refer to Generali Settlement proposed Aug. 2006 |
December 2007 objections to Generali settlement
The
proposed settlement of a long-standing class action lawsuit by
Holocaust survivors against Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali
is pending before the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The
settlement was proposed by the company and some original plaintiffs'
attorneys and initially approved in March 2007, but another group of
original plaintiffs opposed to the settlement appealed the decision.
After successfully appealing the inadequate public notice and
forcing an extension of the claims deadline, formal objections to the proposed class action settlement were
filed on December 26, 2007 by a group of survivors in the U.S. and
Israel, on behalf of class members.
See the following documents filed
with the Court:
Objections to Generali Class Settlement
Exhibits 1-5
Exhibits 6-8
Exhibits 9-11
Exhibits 12-17
U.S. Appeals Court rules public notice inadequate, voids
settlement and extends opt-out period to Dec. 26, 2007
Recently the
public notification process about the settlement
was ruled inadequate by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and new
notice was ordered. The
court set a
December 26, 2007 deadline for affected persons to exclude themselves from (or "opt
out of") the settlement and keep their legal options open.
For detailed discussion of the Generali settlement notice
see this bulletin from
the National Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors (NAHOS).
For additional background,
click here.
See
also the following news coverage:
New York Jewish Week
(Dec. 20), "Ditch
Generali Settlement, Survivors Told"
New York Times
(Oct 3),
"Appeals Court Extends Time for Suit on Holocaust Insurance
Payments"
NY Jewish Week (Oct. 12),
"Court Holds Up Generali Settlement "
Appeal of 2004 decision
still pending
A 2004 U.S. District Court
decision to dismiss all remaining suits brought against Generali
dating back to 1997 continues to be under active appeal before
the U.S. Second Circuit. See the following filings from 2006:
Joint Plaintiffs' Appeal Brief, June 2006
Weiss Plaintiffs' Appeal Brief, June 2006
Shernoff Appeals Brief, June 2006
Generali Proof Brief, September 2006
Weiss Reply Brief, October 2006
Shernoff Reply Brief, October 2006
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