Los Angeles, October 25,
Descendants of victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide will share a $17 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought against French insurance giant AXA for unpaid life
insurance benefits. (Kyurkjian, et. al. v. AXA, Case No: CV 02-01750, and Ouzounian, et. al. v. AXA, Case No: CV 05-02596, U.S. District Court, Central District of California).
The class includes Armenians
living in the United States and abroad who are descendants and heirs of policyholders who perished in what is considered the first genocide of the 20th century. The settlement, subject to court approval,
will be administered in France, which was one of the first countries to recognize the Armenian Genocide. AXA is headquartered in France and does business in the United States through various subsidiaries.
Under the terms of the $17 million settlement, AXA will donate a minimum of $3 million to various France-based Armenian charitable organizations and will contribute $11 million towards a fund designed to
pay, under procedures to be determined later, valid claims of heirs of policyholders and beneficiaries of policies issued by AXA Group subsidiaries that did business in the Turkish Ottoman Empire prior to
1915. Certain of these policyholders and beneficiaries were among the 1.5 million Armenians who perished and were unable to obtain their insurance proceeds in the ensuing chaos.
Christmas & New Year 
