SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has reversed itself and now says the heirs of Armenians killed in the Turkish Ottoman Empire can seek payment from companies that sold their dead relatives life insurance.
In a rare and stunning move, the 9 U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Friday changed its decision in the case.
At issue is a hotly debated law passed by the California Legislature in 2000 that labeled the killings nearly a century ago a “genocide.” That characterization is fiercely rejected by Turkey.
Last year, the 9th Circuit invalidated the law as an improper conflict with U.S. foreign policy.
But in its reversal, the court said there is no conflict because the federal government does not have a clear policy regarding the mass killings of Armenians during the Turkish Ottoman Empire’s reign.
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