Low
Gerling Global Reinsurance Corp. of America v. Low
Opinion
Opinion
Shubb, J.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
In October 1999, California enacted the Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act (“HVIRA”). See Cal. Ins.Code §§ 13800-13807 and accompanying regulations, Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10 §§ 2278-2278.5. HVI-RA relates to claims asserted by Holocaust victims or their heirs or beneficiaries for coverage under insurance policies issued in Europe between 1920 and 1945. The stated purpose of HVIRA is to ensure that insurance companies doing business in the State of California disclose to the state “any involvement they or their related companies may have had with insurance policies of Holocaust victims.” Cal. Ins. Code § 13801 (e). HVIRA further declares that insurers in California have a responsibility to “ensure the rapid resolution of these questions [regarding unpaid Holocaust-era insurance policies], eliminating further victimization of these policyholders and their families.” Id.
After briefing and a hearing regarding various constitutional challenges to the statute, this court found, in June of 2000, that plaintiffs had shown a probability of success on the merits of two of their claims: (1) that HVIRA interferes with the federal government’s control over foreign…