Miami-Dade Backs Holocaust Survivors' Right To Sue

MIAMI, FL — In a largely symbolic gesture, Miami-Dade commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday supporting the rights of Holocaust survivors and their heirs to sue World War II-era insurers in U.S. courts. The survivors want to force insurance companies to honor policies sold to Holocaust victims before they were killed. The measure was sponsored by Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo Jr.

“While we can never fully right the wrongs of the Holocaust, we must never stop pursuing justice whenever and wherever we can,” Bovo said in a statement. Survivors are blocked by an international agreement limiting claims to the Holocaust insurance commission, an accord upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, and Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida introduced legislation in the House and Senate that would allow the dwindling number of survivors to bring claims against insurance companies. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio also co-sponsored the Senate legislation. Both measures are known as the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2017.

The Miami-Dade resolution urged Congress to pass the House and Senate bills or similar legislation intended to allow "Holocaust-era survivors and their heirs to seek redress from insurance policy providers."

Several Holocaust survivors and heirs of Holocaust victims who live in Miami-Dade County spoke at Tuesday's meeting. They included David Mermelstein, Herbert and Vera Karliner, Magda Bader and Wendy Rothfield.

Survivors and their heirs have been waging a battle to get insurers to pay out benefits from Holocaust-era policies for decades.

A year ago, Holocaust survivors celebrated the end of German insurance giant Allianz's sponsorship of a Florida pro golf tournament in Boca Raton with the hope that it might boost efforts to collect some $2.5 billion in World War II-era policies issued to Jews.

Survivors, their heirs and Jewish groups protested the company's sponsorship of the PGA senior tour's Allianz Championship on grounds that the company failed to pay off policies of tens of thousands of Holocaust victims and other Jews who died under Nazi rule.

They said that the company demanded death certificates, which the Nazis didn't issue to concentration camp victims. Many copies of insurance policies were also lost during the chaos of World War II.

“This is not just a bipartisan issue, but a humanitarian issue,” explained Miami-Dade Commissioner Sally A.Heyman.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo by Ryan Holloway on behalf of Miami-Dade County