Washington, DC - Supreme Court Skirts Holocaust Dispute

Washington, DC - The Supreme Court turned back an appeal from Austrian Jewish victims of the Nazi regime whose litigation had tied up payments from a $210 million settlement.
Justices refused to disturb a decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the Bush administration in dismissing the class-action lawsuit against Austria.

That decision late last year cleared the way for payout's from a 2001 settlement fund. So far, more than 2,000 payments have been made to Austrian Jews whose property was confiscated during the Nazi era and World War II.

Lawyers who filed the class-action lawsuit told justices that the appeals court panel "swayed perhaps by an understandable desire to obtain some measure of compensation for Holocaust survivors during their lifetimes, has dismissed this case for the wrong reason."

Had the high court intervened and reinstated the case, Austria could have been forced to defend itself in court despite the settlement.