Generali Insurance Litigation

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.

June 6, 2008: The U.S. Court of Appeals has denied objections & affirmed the January 2008 District Court approval of the 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.

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.

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.

The Generali Litigation Timeline features links to key documents over a ten year period. Additional documents are available below.

Generali Litigation Timeline, 1997-2008 n colored boxes refer to Generali Settlement proposed Aug. 2006

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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

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.