SACRAMENTO – A California appeals court has denied a motion for reconsideration in a case involving the estate of an Egyptian national.
On Sept. 28, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California denied the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Cultural and Educational Bureau's motion for reconsideration in the matter involving the estate of Egyptian national Mohamed Lasheen.
The Egyptian organizations were required to provide additional statements and documents regarding assets in a previous ruling and sought reconsideration. The court denied this motion and also granted Lasheen's estate $1,500 to be deposited into the court's fund. Additionally, the court denied a motion from Lasheen's estate to distribute the funds.
The estate of Mohamed Lasheen previously filed a motion requesting that the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Cultural and Educational Bureau be required to provide additional statements and documents related to assets regarding the case.
Lasheen's estate sought to, among other things, obtain "information related to each Egyptian defendant’s assets and financial accounts," the ruling states, and the defendants had "refused to provide the discovery sought."
The Egyptian defendants argued that plaintiff’s discovery requests "were overbroad because they sought mostly information concerning assets that are immune from execution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act," the ruling states.
The estate was awarded $549,826.06.
Lasheen, an Egyptian national, was diagnosed with liver cancer while in the United States. He had come to the U.S. as a visiting scholar in 2000 and enrolled in the Embassy of Egypt Health Care Benefits Plan. Loomis, a Pennsylvania-based corporation, contracted with Cultural and Education Bureau to provide administrative services for the Embassy of Egypt Health Care Benefits Plan, according to an October 2017 ruling.
After his diagnosis, Lasheen requested coverage for a liver transplant, but his claim was denied "on the ground that his cancer resulted from a preexisting condition" and therefore the transplant was not covered, the October ruling states. Lasheen died in December 2000 as a result of his illness. Lasheen's estate sued Loomis and the Egyptian defendants alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.