BY APPO JABARIAN
The recent wave of staggering legal losses by Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America have brought to the forefront of public awareness and discussion a number of key questions.
Question: How many attorneys in the State of California where Western Diocese is located have abstained from or refused outright to the series of frivolous lawsuits initiated by The Western Diocese leadership under current primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian?
Answer: According to reliable sources within the Diocese, a good number of California lawyers have abstained from taking on a great number of cases brought by Western Diocese. Reportedly, a good number of those self-respecting attorneys, refusing to take on those cases, noted that many of those cases are ‘meritless’ and that Archbishop Derderian and his ‘business associates’ had no valid legal grounds to initiate those cases.
Couple decades ago, even one Western Diocese supporter who asked to remain anonymous reportedly advised Arch Derderian to avoid initiating those lawsuits as “they could potentially damage the good standing of the Armenian Church in general.”
But Archbishop Derderian “astoundingly responded that ‘its OK we will be making lots money.’” Well, the community witnessed the zeal “to make lots of money” when Archbishop Derderian’s representative Pastor Manoug Markarian was caught red-handed in California courts of law when he was declared by the judge as “Abject liar.”
Important development pertaining to Pastor Manoug Markarian’s status in a court of law as “an Abject liar.”
Regarding the legal case no. B321087 – Divine Food and Catering, LLC v. Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America cons w B321605 [ Trial Court Case No: 21STCV38713 ]. A few days ago, USA Armenian Life has secured from The State of California’s COURT OF APPEAL, SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION ONE, the audio of the oral argument held in this matter on June 21, 2023. Which will be carefully studied in the next few days. The editorial team of USA Armenian Life will share its findings with the concerned readers and TV viewers along with the equally concerned members of the wider community.
Unlike lawyers Brian S. Kabateck and Shant Karnikian, it’s interesting that a number of respectable attorneys have reportedly abstained from or refused to represent widely discredited Western Diocese leadership, mainly Arch. Derderian and his chief business negotiator and rep pastor Manoug and his son Harout altogether.
The recent staggering legal losses by Archbishop Derderian trio namely Arch. Derderian, his main representative Pastor Manoug Markarian and son Harout of Western Diocese have reignited widening debate as to “What’s next for the Western Diocese and the attorneys Brian S. Kabateck and Shant Karnikian who have led or misled the Diocese to recent embarrassing legal losses?”
From the point of view of many Western Diocese supporters and faithful, these attorneys have opted to attempt bullying tactics to silence USA Armenian Life investigative reporters. But to no avail.
The appearance on the American Armenian horizon of Brian S. Kabateck, Esq. and Shant Karnikian, Esq. as initiators of many of the frivolous lawsuits has fueled another debate in the Southland and even the Republic of Armenia.
The common challenge faced by Homeland and American Armenian Diaspora in Western U.S. is the existence of unscrupulous attorneys who would do anything to get “big money or 15 seconds of fame.”
The civil society in Armenia has been wary of those attorneys who have been effectively obstructing justice by taking to the limits Armenia’s criminal justice system by shielding a number of key members of the former kleptocratic regimes under former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.
Here are key questions raised by American Armenians.
1) “How will all this end and when will the culprits finally be held accountable for a litany of nefarious activities that they have been engaged in?
2) “When and how the Armenia nation will bring under control the Ottoman/Soviet Armenian mafia both in the homeland and Diaspora?”
3) “Are attorneys like Brian S. Kabateck, Esq. and Shant Karnikian, Esq. legitimate defense attorneys or legal mercenaries?”
Time will tell.
But one fact is clear on the mind of thousands of community members: Archbishop Derderian, Pastor Manoug Markarian and son Harout, their fellow clansmen Catholicos Karekin II, his blood brother primate of Armenian Diocese in Russia Yezras of Moscow.
Their time has come to an end.