Descendants of the Armenian Genocide filed a class-action lawsuit yesterday against Aviva, a British insurance company that is the successor in interest to Norwich Union and Commercial Union, companies that sold insurance to Armenians in Turkish Ottoman Empire prior to the 1915 genocide (Baghtchedjian and Papazyan et al vs. Aviva et al , U.S. District Court, Central District of California).

The lawsuit seeks to recover life and fire insurance benefits that were wrongfully withheld from beneficiaries of those killed during the genocide . Aviva is the 11th insurance company to be sued on behalf of Armenian Genocide victims and their heirs.

Raffi Baghtchedjian and Nisan Papazyan, the lead plaintiffs of the federal class-action lawsuit, are suing on behalf of all Armenians who owned Norwich Union life insurance and Commercial Union life and fire insurance policies during the Armenian Genocide, and whose beneficiaries were never paid insurance benefits.

Baghtchedjian and Papazyan are represented by attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan of Glendale-based Yeghiayan & Associates, who is co-counsel for similar class-action cases, including Marootian v. New York Life Insurance Company, Kyurkjian v. Axa, Movsesian v. Victoria Versicherung AG, and Deirmenjian, v. Deutsche Bank AG.

From 1880 to 1915, many Armenians living in Turkey purchased life and fire insurance policies from various European and American Insurance companies. This case involves those who purchased policies from Norwich Union and Commercial union.

On April 24, 1915, the Turkish Ottoman Empire launched a systematic campaign to destroy Armenians through a process of massacre and deportation, known as the Armenian Genocide. Between 1915 and 1922, approximately two million Armenians perished as a result.

Among the victims were the owners of life and fire insurance policies issued by Norwich Union and Commercial union.

"These companies never paid benefits to victims of the Armenian Genocide or their heirs," Yeghiayan said.

In the lawsuit, Baghtchedjian and Papazyan are asking the federal court for an order requiring Aviva to identify the insurance benefits that belong to Armenians, identify the rightful heirs and to pay the benefits to them.

"For more than 93 years, Aviva and its subsidiary companies have been holding millions of dollars that belong to the heirs of the victims of the Armenian Genocide," said Yeghiayan. " No organization should be allowed to profit from genocide, but until now, Aviva has had no incentive to identify the rightful heirs and pay the money owed to them. With this federal lawsuit, we intend to give them an incentive."