[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 762 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 762
To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants under
holocaust-era insurance policies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 31, 2017
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Sherman, and Mr. Garamendi)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants under
holocaust-era insurance policies.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Holocaust Insurance Accountability
Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) allow for the enforcement of State laws requiring the
disclosure of information about Holocaust-era insurance
policies, notwithstanding the holding of the Supreme Court of
the United States in American Insurance Association v.
Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396 (2003) that such laws are preempted by
the foreign policy espoused by the executive branch of the
Federal Government addressed in that case;
(2) facilitate the disclosure of information about
Holocaust-era insurance policies under applicable State laws so
that citizens of the United States (and other persons on whose
behalf such laws were enacted) may know whether they hold any
rights under the policies;
(3) allow the beneficiaries of Holocaust-era insurance
policies, many of whom are citizens of the United States, to
bring suits in the courts of the United States to recover any
proceeds under the policies to which they may be entitled,
notwithstanding the defense that such suits are preempted by
the executive branch foreign policy addressed in Garamendi;
(4) foreclose defenses to claims brought under section 4 of
this Act arising from any prior judgments or settlement
agreements (including the class action judgment and settlement
agreement (M21-89, United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York) in In re: Assicurazioni General
S.p.A. Holocaust Insurance Litigation) that were entered and
approved based on the erroneous conclusion that State law
claims to recover under Holocaust-era insurance claims are
preempted by the executive branch foreign policy addressed in
Garamendi;
(5) provide for a uniform statute of limitations of 10
years after the date of enactment of this Act in any action to
recover under Holocaust-era insurance policies under this Act
or State law; and
(6) in carrying out the purposes described in paragraphs
(1) through (5), preserve the lawmaking powers of Congress
under article I of the Constitution of the United States, with
which the judicial decisions cited in this section are
inconsistent.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Beneficiary.--The term ``beneficiary'' includes--
(A) a named insured or named beneficiary under a
covered policy; and
(B) an heir, assignee, or legal representative of a
named insured or named beneficiary described in
subparagraph (A).
(2) Covered policy.--The term ``covered policy'' means any
life, dowry, education, annuity, property, or other insurance
policy that was--
(A) in effect at any time during the period
beginning on January 31, 1933, and ending on December
31, 1945; and
(B) issued to a policyholder domiciled in--
(i) any area that was occupied or
controlled by Nazi Germany; or
(ii) the territorial jurisdiction of
Switzerland.
(3) Insurer.--The term ``insurer''--
(A) means any person engaged in the business of
insurance (including reinsurance) in interstate or
foreign commerce that issued a covered policy; and
(B) includes any successor in interest to a person
described in subparagraph (A).
(4) Nazi germany.--The term ``Nazi Germany'' means--
(A) the Nazi government of Germany; and
(B) any government that--
(i) had friendly relations with the Nazi
government of Germany;
(ii) was allied with or controlled by the
Nazi government of Germany; or
(iii) exercised or claimed sovereignty over
any area occupied by the military forces of the
Nazi government of Germany.
(5) Related company.--The term ``related company'' means an
affiliate, as that term is defined in section 104(g) of the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6701(g)).
SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION; CIVIL ACTIONS.
(a) Civil Actions To Recover Under Covered Policies.--A beneficiary
of a covered policy may bring a civil action against the insurer for
the covered policy or a related company of the insurer to recover
proceeds due under the covered policy or otherwise to enforce any
rights under the covered policy.
(b) Nationwide Service of Process.--For a civil action brought
under subsection (a) in a district court of the United States, process
may be served in the judicial district where the case is brought or any
other judicial district of the United States where the defendant may be
found, resides, has an agent, or transacts business.
(c) Remedies.--
(1) Damages.--
(A) In general.--A court shall award to a
prevailing beneficiary in a civil action brought under
subsection (a)--
(i) the amount of the proceeds due under
the covered policy;
(ii) prejudgment interest on the amount
described in clause (i) from the date the
amount was due until the date of judgment,
calculated at a rate of 6 percent per year,
compounded annually; and
(iii) any other appropriate relief
necessary to enforce rights under the covered
policy.
(B) Treble damages.--If a court finds that an
insurer or related company of the insurer acted in bad
faith, the court shall award damages in an amount equal
to 3 times the amount otherwise to be awarded under
subparagraph (A).
(2) Attorney's fees and costs.--A court shall award
reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing
beneficiary in a civil action brought under subsection (a).
(d) Limitation.--A civil action may not be brought under this
section on or after the date that is 10 years after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. EFFECT OF PRIOR JUDGMENTS AND RELEASES.
(a) In General.--
(1) Effect.--Subject to subsection (b)(1), a judgment or
release described in paragraph (2) shall not preclude,
foreclose, bar, release, waive, acquit, discharge, or otherwise
impair any claim brought under section 4 by any person.
(2) Judgments and releases.--A judgment or release
described in this paragraph is--
(A) a judgment entered before the date of enactment
of this Act for any claim arising under a covered
policy in any civil action in a Federal or State court;
or
(B) an agreement entered into before the date of
enactment of this Act under which any person (on behalf
of the person, any other person, or a class of persons)
agrees not to assert or agrees to waive or release any
claim described in subparagraph (A), regardless of
whether the agreement is--
(i) denominated as a release, discharge,
covenant not to sue, or otherwise; or
(ii) approved by a court.
(b) Rules of Construction.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
nothing in this section shall affect the validity or
enforceability of any agreement entered into between any
claimant under a covered policy and the International
Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims or an insurer
under which the claimant has agreed to release or waive any
claim in consideration for payment under a covered policy.
(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any
agreement for which the payment is denominated as humanitarian
by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance
Claims.
SEC. 6. EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EXECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY.
(a) Effect of Executive Agreements and Executive Foreign Policy on
State Laws.--An executive agreement described in subsection (c)(1) and
an executive foreign policy described in subsection (c)(2) shall not
supercede or preempt the law of any State--
(1) relating to a claim under or relating to a covered
policy against the insurer for the covered policy or a related
company of the insurer; or
(2) that requires an insurer doing business in the State or
any related company of the insurer to disclose information
regarding a covered policy issued by the insurer.
(b) Effect of Executive Agreements and Executive Foreign Policy on
Claims Brought Under This Act.--An executive agreement described in
subsection (c)(1) and an executive foreign policy described in
subsection (c)(2) shall not compromise, settle, extinguish, waive,
preclude, bar, or foreclose a claim brought under section 4.
(c) Executive Agreements and Executive Foreign Policy Covered.--
(1) Executive agreements.--An executive agreement described
in this paragraph is an executive agreement between the United
States and a foreign government entered into before, on, or
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Executive foreign policy.--An executive foreign policy
described in this paragraph is a foreign policy of the
executive branch of the Federal Government established before,
on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS.
Nothing in this Act shall supersede or preempt any State law except
to the extent the law of the State conflicts with this Act.
SEC. 8. TIMELINESS OF ACTIONS BROUGHT UNDER STATE LAW.
A claim brought under any State law described in section 6(a) shall
not be deemed untimely on the basis of any State or Federal statute of
limitations or on the basis of any other legal or equitable rule or
doctrine (including laches) governing the timeliness of claims if the
claim is filed not later than 10 years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision
to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the
remainder of this Act and the application of such provision to any
other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
This Act shall--
(1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) apply to any claim relating to a covered policy that is
brought, before, on, or after the date of enactment of this
Act.
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