Vartkes Yeghiayan
Encyclopedia
Vartkes Yeghiayan is an Armenian-American
attorney
specializing in international law best known for his role in leading federal class action
lawsuits against insurance companies for insurance policies issued to Armenians
in the early twentieth century during the time of the Armenian Genocide
.
. His father Boghos, a native of Isparta
, was an orphaned survivor of the World War I-era massacres and deportations of the Armenian Genocide
. In Ethiopia, Boghos had worked his way up at an international trading firm. Yeghiayan's mother, Aroussiag Terzian, had close relations with the Ethiopian royal family – her godmother
was Menen Asfaw
, the wife of Emperor Haile Selassie – and this relationship had afforded him and his two brothers the privilege to study abroad. At age eleven, he was sent to an American boarding school in Cyprus
and in 1954 he arrived to study in the United States. He attended school at Indiana University for one year before being accepted to Berkeley
, initially as a premed student, later changing his major and graduating with a Bachelor
in history in 1959. Yeghiayan was accepted to the University of California, Hastings College of the Law
and completed his legal studies at Lincoln Law School
, receiving his Juris Doctor
(J.D.) in 1965. After briefly working for a small firm in Oakland
, he joined California Rural Legal Assistance
(CRLA).
Over time, Yeghiayan rose from junior attorney to become the Northern California Regional Director of the CRLA. Due to his experience, in 1974 President Richard Nixon
appointed him as the Special Assistant for International Operations to Director of ACTION
. He was later appointed assistant director to the Peace Corps
and remained in this position until 1980.
Yeghiayan was responsible for the establishment and management in formulating policy, agency planning, conducting liaison with foreign and domestic governmental and private organizations and individuals, and encouragement of voluntary service programs within the United States and abroad.
As Assistant Director, Yeghiayan supervised the worldwide operations of the Peace Corps’ 7,000 volunteers in 68 countries. He was reappointed by successive administrations and served for five years under Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter. Yeghiayan also served as Secretary for the United States Presidential Commission on Volunteerism.
In 1975, Yeghiayan testified before the United States Congress Helsinki Commission and in 1979, he was commissioned by the American Enterprise Institute of Public Policy, Washington, D.C., to write a position paper on the Horn of Africa leading Yeghiayan to serve as consultant on the topic of starvation in Africa. Following his career in Washington, D.C., Yeghiayan proceeded to open his own legal practice in California.
In 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeghiayan served as legal advisor to the newly formed Republic of Armenia, authoring the first draft of the Armenian Constitution. During the same year, Yeghiayan pioneered efforts to bring food assistance to the newly formed republic through the United States Agency for International Development and he led a team of engineers from the Ministry of Engineering in California to conduct a feasibility study of the oil industry in Armenia.
Yeghiayan currently practices law in Glendale, California, where he specializes in International Law and Complex Litigation. To date, approximately five thousand Armenian insurance beneficiaries have received their benefits because of the efforts Yeghiayan has made in the legal arena. His efforts have not only helped claimants, but Armenian communities and organizations across the globe, as nearly $12 million in funds have been distributed.
Yeghiayan has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, and Armenia on the legal ramifications of the class lawsuits regarding the Armenian Genocide and restitution of Armenian properties. He is fluent in English, Armenian, French, Italian and Ethiopian.
In 1960, he founded the Armenian Students Association at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1972, Yeghiayan initiated the first protest at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles, paving the way for what has now become an annual protest against the Turkish government for its continued denial of the genocide. Yeghiayan has also edited and published several books dealing with issues regarding the Armenian Genocide.
of Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
, the American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-16, describing an exchange between him and Mehmed Talat Pasha, the man chiefly held responsible for the Armenian Genocide. The text in question spoke of Talat's and, by extension, the state's interest in claiming, as beneficiaries, the life insurance policies of the Armenians who had perished during the genocide. The Armenians had purchased these policies from New York Life and Equitable Life of New York prior to the beginning of the war and, after exploring the issue more in depth, Yeghiayan came to the conclusion that New York Life, as well as other insurance companies, had withheld death benefits totaling in the tens of millions from the descendants of the deceased.
After gathering evidence and finding several descendants of the victims, in 1999 he filed a class action
lawsuit
against New York Life in a case which lasted for four years. In January 2004, New York Life agreed to settle by paying $20 million to the plaintiffs. Since then Yeghiayan, along with colleagues Mark Geragos
and Brian Kabateck, have filed suits against other insurance companies, including AXA
, which agreed to settle in 2005 by paying $17.5 million, and Deutsche Bank
.
In September 2008, Yeghiayan filed suit against the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, seeking documents from 1914 to 1925 relating to the Armenian Genocide, following the administrations failed response to his repeated request to procure information.
In June 2010, Yeghiayan filed litigation against the J. Paul Getty Museum in what is believed to be the first case in the United States seeking the return of cultural or religious objects stolen during the Armenian Genocide.
In December 2010, Yeghiayan filed a suit against the Turkish government and two Turkish banks, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
and Ziraat Bankası, for seized Armenian assets in the region of Adana
.
In March 2011, Yeghiayan filed suit against the United States Federal Reserve on behalf of the Center for Armenian Remembrance, to demand the disclosure of information pertaining to Armenian assets and confiscated gold, seized by the Ottomans during the Armenian Genocide.
• Ellis Island Medals of Honor, National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (2010)
• Cavaliere of the Holy See, Vatican (“Ordinis Santi Gregori Magni”) (2009)
• Achievement Award, Federation of Eastern Greeks (2009)
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Armenian Educational Foundation (2008 )
• Attorney of the Year Award, CLAY - California Lawyer’s Magazine (2006)
• Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist, Consumer Attorneys of California (2005)
• Top Foreign Service Award, United States Government (1978)
• Raphael Lemkin's Dossier on the Armenian Genocide (2008) (in English, Turkish & Greek)
• British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: The Armenian-Greek Section (2008)
• Vahan Cardashian: Advocate Extraordinaire of the Armenian Cause (2007)
• Malta Belgeleri: British Foreign Dossiers on Turkish War Prisoners (in Turkish) (2007)
• The Case of Misak Torlakian (2006)
• The Case of Soghomon Tehlirian (2006)
• They Refused to Die: A Chronicle of the Armenian Genocide (in Armenian) (1991)
• Trial of the Young Turks in Constantinople (1990)
• The Horn of Africa: Challenges to American Foreign Policy (1978)
• Volunteerism: The Real and Emerging Power (1976)
• The Economic Commission and Associated States of Africa (1966)
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
specializing in international law best known for his role in leading federal class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuits against insurance companies for insurance policies issued to Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in the early twentieth century during the time of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
.
Biography & Ensuing Career
Yeghiayan was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to a wealthy Armenian family originally from the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. His father Boghos, a native of Isparta
Isparta
Isparta is a city in western Turkey and the provincial capital of the Isparta Province. The city's population is 222,556 and elevation from sea level is 1035 m. Another name of the city is "City of Roses"....
, was an orphaned survivor of the World War I-era massacres and deportations of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. In Ethiopia, Boghos had worked his way up at an international trading firm. Yeghiayan's mother, Aroussiag Terzian, had close relations with the Ethiopian royal family – her godmother
Godmother
A godmother is a female godparent in the Christian tradition.Godmother may also refer to:*A female arranged to be legal guardian of a child if untimely demise is met by the parents...
was Menen Asfaw
Menen Asfaw
Empress Menen Asfaw was the wife and consort of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Empress Menen was the daughter of Asfaw, Jantirar of Ambassel...
, the wife of Emperor Haile Selassie – and this relationship had afforded him and his two brothers the privilege to study abroad. At age eleven, he was sent to an American boarding school in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and in 1954 he arrived to study in the United States. He attended school at Indiana University for one year before being accepted to Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, initially as a premed student, later changing his major and graduating with a Bachelor
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in history in 1959. Yeghiayan was accepted to the University of California, Hastings College of the Law
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
University of California, Hastings College of the Law is a public law school in San Francisco, California, located in the Civic Center neighborhood....
and completed his legal studies at Lincoln Law School
Lincoln Law School of San Jose
Lincoln Law School of San Jose is a private, non-profit law school in San Jose, California. It is an independent institution, formerly a part of Lincoln University.-History:The school traces its roots to 1919 when Dr...
, receiving his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.) in 1965. After briefly working for a small firm in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, he joined California Rural Legal Assistance
California Rural Legal Assistance
California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. is a 501 non-profit legal and political advocacy group that promotes the interests of migrant laborers and the rural poor. The organization provides legal assistance in the areas of housing and eviction, public benefits, and educational access...
(CRLA).
Over time, Yeghiayan rose from junior attorney to become the Northern California Regional Director of the CRLA. Due to his experience, in 1974 President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
appointed him as the Special Assistant for International Operations to Director of ACTION
ACTION (U.S. government agency)
ACTION was a United States government agency described as, "the Federal Domestic Volunteer Agency". It was formed in 1970 from VISTA; the Peace Corps; and the Foster Grandparents, Retired and Senior Volunteer, and Senior Companion Programs...
. He was later appointed assistant director to the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
and remained in this position until 1980.
Yeghiayan was responsible for the establishment and management in formulating policy, agency planning, conducting liaison with foreign and domestic governmental and private organizations and individuals, and encouragement of voluntary service programs within the United States and abroad.
As Assistant Director, Yeghiayan supervised the worldwide operations of the Peace Corps’ 7,000 volunteers in 68 countries. He was reappointed by successive administrations and served for five years under Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter. Yeghiayan also served as Secretary for the United States Presidential Commission on Volunteerism.
In 1975, Yeghiayan testified before the United States Congress Helsinki Commission and in 1979, he was commissioned by the American Enterprise Institute of Public Policy, Washington, D.C., to write a position paper on the Horn of Africa leading Yeghiayan to serve as consultant on the topic of starvation in Africa. Following his career in Washington, D.C., Yeghiayan proceeded to open his own legal practice in California.
In 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeghiayan served as legal advisor to the newly formed Republic of Armenia, authoring the first draft of the Armenian Constitution. During the same year, Yeghiayan pioneered efforts to bring food assistance to the newly formed republic through the United States Agency for International Development and he led a team of engineers from the Ministry of Engineering in California to conduct a feasibility study of the oil industry in Armenia.
Yeghiayan currently practices law in Glendale, California, where he specializes in International Law and Complex Litigation. To date, approximately five thousand Armenian insurance beneficiaries have received their benefits because of the efforts Yeghiayan has made in the legal arena. His efforts have not only helped claimants, but Armenian communities and organizations across the globe, as nearly $12 million in funds have been distributed.
Yeghiayan has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, and Armenia on the legal ramifications of the class lawsuits regarding the Armenian Genocide and restitution of Armenian properties. He is fluent in English, Armenian, French, Italian and Ethiopian.
Activity in the Armenian community
Though as a youth Yeghiayan had not shown too great an interest in the Armenian Genocide, the 1965 Yerevan demonstrations and the discovery of his father's harrowing experience through the massacres played a critical role in encouraging him to bring more public awareness to the subject.In 1960, he founded the Armenian Students Association at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1972, Yeghiayan initiated the first protest at the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles, paving the way for what has now become an annual protest against the Turkish government for its continued denial of the genocide. Yeghiayan has also edited and published several books dealing with issues regarding the Armenian Genocide.
Class-action lawsuits
In 1987, Yeghiayan came across a passage in the memoirsAmbassador Morgenthau's Story
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story is the title of the published memoirs of Henry Morgenthau, Sr. covering the time when he was Woodrow Wilson's American ambassador to Constantinople, 1913-1916. The book took over two years to complete. The ghostwriter for Henry Morgenthau was Burton J. Hendrick...
of Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
Henry Morgenthau, Sr.
Henry Morgenthau was a lawyer, businessman and United States ambassador, most famous as the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. He was father of the politician Henry Morgenthau, Jr. and the grandfather of Robert M. Morgenthau, who was the District Attorney of...
, the American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-16, describing an exchange between him and Mehmed Talat Pasha, the man chiefly held responsible for the Armenian Genocide. The text in question spoke of Talat's and, by extension, the state's interest in claiming, as beneficiaries, the life insurance policies of the Armenians who had perished during the genocide. The Armenians had purchased these policies from New York Life and Equitable Life of New York prior to the beginning of the war and, after exploring the issue more in depth, Yeghiayan came to the conclusion that New York Life, as well as other insurance companies, had withheld death benefits totaling in the tens of millions from the descendants of the deceased.
After gathering evidence and finding several descendants of the victims, in 1999 he filed a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against New York Life in a case which lasted for four years. In January 2004, New York Life agreed to settle by paying $20 million to the plaintiffs. Since then Yeghiayan, along with colleagues Mark Geragos
Mark Geragos
Mark John Geragos is an Armenian/ American criminal defense attorney who defended the musician Michael Jackson, actress Winona Ryder, politician Gary Condit, and Susan McDougal. He was also involved in the Whitewater scandal. He also represented Scott Peterson, in another trial that received...
and Brian Kabateck, have filed suits against other insurance companies, including AXA
AXA
AXA S.A. is a French global insurance group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. AXA is a conglomerate of independently run businesses, operated according to the laws and regulations of many different countries. The AXA group of companies engage in life, health and other forms of...
, which agreed to settle in 2005 by paying $17.5 million, and Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
.
In September 2008, Yeghiayan filed suit against the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, seeking documents from 1914 to 1925 relating to the Armenian Genocide, following the administrations failed response to his repeated request to procure information.
In June 2010, Yeghiayan filed litigation against the J. Paul Getty Museum in what is believed to be the first case in the United States seeking the return of cultural or religious objects stolen during the Armenian Genocide.
In December 2010, Yeghiayan filed a suit against the Turkish government and two Turkish banks, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey is the central bank of Turkey and is founded as a joint stock company with the exclusive right to issue banknotes in Turkey. The preparations to establish a central bank began in 1926, but organization was established on 3 October 1931 and opened...
and Ziraat Bankası, for seized Armenian assets in the region of Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
.
In March 2011, Yeghiayan filed suit against the United States Federal Reserve on behalf of the Center for Armenian Remembrance, to demand the disclosure of information pertaining to Armenian assets and confiscated gold, seized by the Ottomans during the Armenian Genocide.
Awards and Honors
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Armenian Bar Association (2011)• Ellis Island Medals of Honor, National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (2010)
• Cavaliere of the Holy See, Vatican (“Ordinis Santi Gregori Magni”) (2009)
• Achievement Award, Federation of Eastern Greeks (2009)
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Armenian Educational Foundation (2008 )
• Attorney of the Year Award, CLAY - California Lawyer’s Magazine (2006)
• Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist, Consumer Attorneys of California (2005)
• Top Foreign Service Award, United States Government (1978)
Publications
• Pro Armenia: Jewish Responses to the Armenian Genocide (2011)• Raphael Lemkin's Dossier on the Armenian Genocide (2008) (in English, Turkish & Greek)
• British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: The Armenian-Greek Section (2008)
• Vahan Cardashian: Advocate Extraordinaire of the Armenian Cause (2007)
• Malta Belgeleri: British Foreign Dossiers on Turkish War Prisoners (in Turkish) (2007)
• The Case of Misak Torlakian (2006)
• The Case of Soghomon Tehlirian (2006)
• They Refused to Die: A Chronicle of the Armenian Genocide (in Armenian) (1991)
• Trial of the Young Turks in Constantinople (1990)
• The Horn of Africa: Challenges to American Foreign Policy (1978)
• Volunteerism: The Real and Emerging Power (1976)
• The Economic Commission and Associated States of Africa (1966)