Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5265 To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants under holocaust- era insurance policies. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 22, 2019 Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Mr. ZELDIN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse- quently 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Insurance 4 Accountability Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are to— 7 (1) allow for the enforcement of State laws re- 8 quiring the disclosure of information about Holo- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5265 IH caust-era insurance policies, notwithstanding the 1 holding of the Supreme Court of the United States 2 in American Insurance Association v. Garamendi, 3 539 U.S. 396 (2003) that such laws are preempted 4 by the foreign policy espoused by the executive 5 branch of the Federal Government addressed in that 6 case; 7 (2) facilitate the disclosure of information about 8 Holocaust-era insurance policies under applicable 9 State laws so that citizens of the United States (and 10 other persons on whose behalf such laws were en- 11 acted) may know whether they hold any rights under 12 the policies; 13 (3) create a new Federal private cause of action 14 and subject matter jurisdiction to allow the bene- 15 ficiaries of Holocaust-era insurance policies, many of 16 whom are citizens of the United States, to bring 17 suits in the courts of the United States to recover 18 any proceeds under the policies to which they may 19 be entitled, notwithstanding the defense that such 20 suits are preempted by the executive branch foreign 21 policy addressed in Garamendi, with the State law of 22 the forum or Federal common law providing the rule 23 of decision governing the right of a beneficiary to re- 24 cover under such policies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5265 IH (4) foreclose defenses to claims brought under 1 section 4 of this Act arising from any prior judg- 2 ments or settlement agreements (including the class 3 action judgment and settlement agreement (M21– 4 89, United States District Court for the Southern 5 District of New York) in In re: Assicurazioni Gen- 6 eral S.p.A. Holocaust Insurance Litigation) that 7 were entered and approved based on the erroneous 8 conclusion that State law claims to recover under 9 Holocaust-era insurance claims are preempted by 10 the executive branch foreign policy addressed in 11 Garamendi; 12 (5) provide for a uniform statute of limitations 13 of 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act 14 in any action to recover under Holocaust-era insur- 15 ance policies under this Act or State law; and 16 (6) in carrying out the purposes described in 17 paragraphs (1) through (5), preserve the lawmaking 18 powers of Congress under article I of the Constitu- 19 tion of the United States, with which the judicial de- 20 cisions cited in this section are inconsistent. 21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 (1) BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary’’ in- 24 cludes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5265 IH (A) a named insured or named beneficiary 1 under a covered policy; and 2 (B) an heir, assignee, or legal representa- 3 tive of a named insured or named beneficiary 4 described in subparagraph (A). 5 (2) COVERED POLICY.—The term ‘‘covered pol- 6 icy’’ means any life, dowry, education, annuity, prop- 7 erty, or other insurance policy that was— 8 (A) in effect at any time during the period 9 beginning on January 31, 1933, and ending on 10 December 31, 1945; and 11 (B) issued to a policyholder domiciled in— 12 (i) any area that was occupied or con- 13 trolled by Nazi Germany; or 14 (ii) the territorial jurisdiction of Swit- 15 zerland. 16 (3) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’— 17 (A) means any person engaged in the busi- 18 ness of insurance (including reinsurance) in 19 interstate or foreign commerce that issued a 20 covered policy; and 21 (B) includes any successor in interest to a 22 person described in subparagraph (A). 23 (4) NAZI GERMANY.—The term ‘‘Nazi Ger- 24 many’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5265 IH (A) the Nazi government of Germany; and 1 (B) any government that— 2 (i) had friendly relations with the 3 Nazi government of Germany; 4 (ii) was allied with or controlled by 5 the Nazi government of Germany; or 6 (iii) exercised or claimed sovereignty 7 over any area occupied by the military 8 forces of the Nazi government of Germany. 9 (5) RELATED COMPANY.—The term ‘‘related 10 company’’ means an affiliate, as that term is defined 11 in section 104(g) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 12 (15 U.S.C. 6701(g)). 13 SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION; CIVIL ACTIONS. 14 (a) CIVIL ACTIONS TO RECOVER UNDER COVERED 15 POLICIES.—This Act creates a new Federal private cause 16 of action and Federal subject matter jurisdiction for a 17 beneficiary of a covered policy to bring a civil action 18 against the insurer for the covered policy or a related com- 19 pany of the insurer to recover proceeds due under the cov- 20 ered policy or otherwise to enforce any rights under the 21 covered policy. The rule of decision governing the right 22 of a beneficiary to recover under a covered policy shall be 23 the law of the forum State in which the civil action is filed, 24 or Federal common law, at the option of the beneficiary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5265 IH (b) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—For a civil 1 action brought under subsection (a) in a district court of 2 the United States, process may be served in the judicial 3 district where the case is brought or any other judicial 4 district of the United States where the defendant may be 5 found, resides, has an agent, or transacts business. 6 (c) REMEDIES.— 7 (1) DAMAGES.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A court shall award to 9 a prevailing beneficiary in a civil action brought 10 under subsection (a)— 11 (i) the amount of the proceeds due 12 under the covered policy; 13 (ii) prejudgment interest on the 14 amount described in clause (i) from the 15 date the amount was due until the date of 16 judgment, calculated at a rate of 6 percent 17 per year, compounded annually; and 18 (iii) any other appropriate relief nec- 19 essary to enforce rights under the covered 20 policy. 21 (B) TREBLE DAMAGES.—If a court finds 22 that an insurer or related company of the in- 23 surer acted in bad faith, the court shall award 24 damages in an amount equal to 3 times the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5265 IH amount otherwise to be awarded under sub- 1 paragraph (A). 2 (2) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS.—A court 3 shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to 4 a prevailing beneficiary in a civil action brought 5 under subsection (a). 6 (d) LIMITATION.—A civil action may not be brought 7 under this section on or after the date that is 10 years 8 after the date of enactment of this Act. 9 SEC. 5. EFFECT OF PRIOR JUDGMENTS AND RELEASES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 11 (1) EFFECT.—Subject to subsection (b)(1), a 12 judgment or release described in paragraph (2) shall 13 not preclude, foreclose, bar, release, waive, acquit, 14 discharge, or otherwise impair any claim brought 15 under section 4 by any person. 16 (2) JUDGMENTS AND RELEASES.—A judgment 17 or release described in this paragraph is— 18 (A) a judgment entered before the date of 19 enactment of this Act for any claim arising 20 under a covered policy in any civil action in a 21 Federal or State court; or 22 (B) an agreement entered into before the 23 date of enactment of this Act under which any 24 person (on behalf of the person, any other per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5265 IH son, or a class of persons) agrees not to assert 1 or agrees to waive or release any claim de- 2 scribed in subparagraph (A), regardless of 3 whether the agreement is— 4 (i) denominated as a release, dis- 5 charge, covenant not to sue, or otherwise; 6 or 7 (ii) approved by a court. 8 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 10 graph (2), nothing in this section shall affect the va- 11 lidity or enforceability of any agreement entered into 12 between any claimant under a covered policy and the 13 International Commission on Holocaust Era Insur- 14 ance Claims or an insurer under which the claimant 15 has agreed to release or waive any claim in consider- 16 ation for payment under a covered policy. 17 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 18 apply to any agreement for which the payment is de- 19 nominated as humanitarian by the International 20 Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims. 21 SEC. 6. EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EXECU- 22 TIVE FOREIGN POLICY. 23 (a) EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EX- 24 ECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY ON STATE LAWS.—An execu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5265 IH tive agreement described in subsection (c)(1) and an exec- 1 utive foreign policy described in subsection (c)(2) shall not 2 supercede or preempt the law of any State— 3 (1) relating to a claim under or relating to a 4 covered policy against the insurer for the covered 5 policy or a related company of the insurer; or 6 (2) that requires an insurer doing business in 7 the State or any related company of the insurer to 8 disclose information regarding a covered policy 9 issued by the insurer. 10 (b) EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EX- 11 ECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY ON CLAIMS BROUGHT UNDER 12 THIS ACT.—An executive agreement described in sub- 13 section (c)(1) and an executive foreign policy described in 14 subsection (c)(2) shall not compromise, settle, extinguish, 15 waive, preclude, bar, or foreclose a claim brought under 16 section 4. 17 (c) EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EXECUTIVE FOR- 18 EIGN POLICY COVERED.— 19 (1) EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS.—An executive 20 agreement described in this paragraph is an execu- 21 tive agreement between the United States and a for- 22 eign government entered into before, on, or after the 23 date of enactment of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5265 IH (2) EXECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY.—An execu- 1 tive foreign policy described in this paragraph is a 2 foreign policy of the executive branch of the Federal 3 Government established before, on, or after the date 4 of enactment of this Act. 5 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 6 Nothing in this Act shall supersede or preempt any 7 State law except to the extent the law of the State conflicts 8 with this Act. 9 SEC. 8. TIMELINESS OF ACTIONS BROUGHT UNDER STATE 10 LAW. 11 A claim brought under any State law described in 12 section 6(a) shall not be deemed untimely on the basis 13 of any State or Federal statute of limitations or on the 14 basis of any other legal or equitable rule or doctrine (in- 15 cluding laches) governing the timeliness of claims if the 16 claim is filed not later than 10 years after the date of 17 enactment of this Act. 18 SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 19 If any provision of this Act or the application of such 20 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be un- 21 constitutional, the remainder of this Act and the applica- 22 tion of such provision to any other person or circumstance 23 shall not be affected thereby. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5265 IH SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 1 This Act shall— 2 (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this 3 Act; and 4 (2) apply to any claim relating to a covered pol- 5 icy that is brought before, on, or after the date of 6 enactment of this Act. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5265.IH H5265 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS