Emil Alperin v. Franciscan Order (Ofm)
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Plaintiffs, Holocaust survivors, their heirs and related organizations, brought this action against a variety of defendants claiming that during World War II the Nazis installed the Ustasha Regime, a fascist organization, as the ruler of Yugoslavia and that the Regime persecuted Serbs, Jews, Roma, and others. Plaintiffs also alleged that in addition to committing genocide and war crimes, the Ustasha Regime systematically looted the property of holocaust survivors placing it in the Usta-sha Treasury.
The district court dismissed plaintiffs’ claims as presenting non-justiciable political questions. Alperin v. Vatican Bank, 242 F.Supp.2d 686 (N.D.Cal.2003). On appeal, this court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims involving alleged violations of human rights and international law. Alperin v. Vatican Bank, 410 F.3d 532 (9th Cir.2005) (Alperin I). However, the court found that plaintiffs’ “garden-variety legal and equitable claims for the recovery of property” did not fall into the political question category, id. at 548 , and remanded those claims to the district court for further consideration.