Toumazou v. Republic of Turkey

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Toumazou et al v. Republic of Turkey et al
Toumazou et al v. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Court United States District Court for the District of Columbia[1]
Full case name Toumazou et al v. Republic of Turkey et al
Toumazou et al v. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Paul L. Friedman[2][3][4]
Keywords
Greek Cypriot diaspora, TRNC Representative Offices in the United States, HSBC Bank USA, Eleni Foka.

Toumazou et al. v. Republic of Turkey et al.,[2] is a pending class action suit by Greek Cypriots and others against the TRNC Representative Offices in the United States and HSBC Bank USA. Turkey was dropped as defendant on 16 February 2010 and the lawsuit name was subsequently revised to Toumazou et al. v. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The TRNC Representative Offices are a commercial entity because the United States does not formally recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The staff of the Representative Offices do not have diplomatic visas and only operate within the United States using business visas. Tsimpedes Law in Washington DC is suing for "the denial of access to and enjoyment of land and property held in the north". The lawsuit, originally initiated by Cypriots displaced during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, has been joined by non-Cypriots who paid for but have never been given legal title to properties that they have purchased.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Participation

More than 100 people living in the United States, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Greece have filed to participate in this class action. Foreign nationals and foreign organizations are legally allowed to sue in American courts. The Municipality of Karavas has recently joined the action. Eleni Foka, the primary school teacher who had sued Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights for violating her human rights has also joined this class action.[13]

Historical context

When the Republic of Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974 many thousands of Cypriots were displaced from their homes and their land and have since been prevented from enjoying their use.

Since 1974, homes have been built on land that is still owned by displaced Cypriots and those new homes have been sold to buyers, who may not have known that the land that the homes were built on was still owned by displaced Cypriots.

Also, some foreign buyers who have bought homes and land in Northern Cyprus have not been allowed to access properties that they have already paid for.

Arguments

Plaintiffs

The plaintiffs are Michalis Toumazou, Nicolas Kantzilaris and Maroulla Tompazou.[2] The class action will be brought on behalf of all displaced Cypriots, and others, who are victims of alleged property crimes committed by the commercial entity called the TRNC and HSBC Bank USA's participation in the alleged laundering of funds for that commercial entity. Originally initiated by displaced Cypriots from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the class action has been joined by Sandra Kocinski, Pat Clarke and Suz Latchford who paid for but have never been given legal title to the villas that they purchased.[5]

Defendants

The named defendants are HSBC Bank USA, N.A.,[14] HSBC Group,[14] HSBC Holdings,[14] PLC, Mehmet Ali Talat,[14] and TRNC.[2][14] Turkey was dropped as defendant on 16 February 2010 and the lawsuit name was subsequently revised to Toumazou et al v. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.[14]

Decision

On 30 September 2014, the court dismissed the case with prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ Greek Cypriots sue Turkey for $400b in US court, by Sebastian Heller, Cyprus Mail, December 18, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Buyers of property in the north join US lawsuit, NorthCyprusDaily.com, 17 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ ‘TRNC’ targeted as a commercial enterprise, by Elias Hazou, Cyprus Mail, 23 February 2011.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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