GENOCIDE SETTLEMENT DISPUTED INSURER CHALLENGES CALIFORNIA JURISDICTION.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Four months after New York Life Insurance Co. announced a multimillion-dollar settlement with heirs of Armenian Genocide victims over outstanding life insurance benefits, the legal battle is far from over.

High-profile attorney Mark Geragos - a regular guest on ``Larry King Live'' - has joined the legal team representing thousands of Armenians seeking a payout from New York Life, which has renewed its efforts to get the class-action lawsuit dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.

Geragos declined to comment Thursday, saying the court has asked him not to speak to the media.

Bill Werfelman, New York Life spokesman and vice president, said life insurance policies sold to Armenians during the years of the genocide - 1915-23, when an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks - contained a clause that requires any legal disputes be resolved in England or France.

The California Attorney General's Office, which filed a friend-of-the- court brief on behalf of the plaintiffs, disputes New York Life's contention that California is an inappropriate venue.

The brief noted that the state last year passed the Armenian Genocide Victims Insurance Act, which grants courts in California jurisdiction over all claims against insurance carriers arising from the genocide, despite any contract provision to the contrary.

Werfelman said his company remains optimistic about a settlement.

``There may be some bumps in the road at the present time,'' he said. ``We believe the parties are traveling the same road toward a fair and equitable agreement along the lines of what we have outlined in April.''

The tentative settlement announced in April calls for $7 million to be set aside to pay valid claims and $3 million to be donated to Armenian civic organizations.

As part of the tentative agreement, New York Life had said it would withdraw its motion to dismiss the class-action lawsuit.

When the settlement was announced, it was greeted with support by a number of high-profile Armenian leaders, including Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, primate of the Armenian Church Western Diocese based in Burbank.

The U.S. District Court in Los Angeles has scheduled a Sept. 5 status conference to see where negotiations stand between the parties. On Sept. 17, the court will hold a hearing on New York Life's motion to dismiss the case.

Under court procedures, after a tentative settlement is reached, both sides will conduct investigations to satisfy themselves as to whether the terms are fair. In a class-action lawsuit, a court ultimately determines the issue of fairness.

Geragos, who is himself Armenian, regularly appears on ``Rivera Live'' and ``Burden of Proof,'' in addition to ``Larry King Live.'' The Los Angeles attorney has burnished his reputation representing a string of prominent clients, including Whitewater figure Susan McDougal, international arms dealer Sarkis Soghanalian, hip-hop star Nathaniel Hale (aka Nate Dogg) and Roger Clinton.