32 C.F.R. § 750.8 Claims: Responsibility of the adjudicating authority.
Title 32 - National Defense
(a) Reviewing prior actions. The adjudicating authority determines whether an adequate investigation has been conducted, whether the initial receipt date is recorded on the face of the claim, and whether all holders of the investigation, if completed, are advised of the receipt of the claim. (b) Determining sufficiency of the claim. The claim should be reviewed and a determination of its sufficiency made. If the claim is not sufficient as received, it shall be returned to the party who submitted it along with an explanation of the insufficiency. This does not constitute denial of the claim. The claim shall not be considered “presented” until it is received in proper form. (c) Adjudicating the claim. (1) The adjudicating authority shall evaluate and either approve or disapprove all claims within its authority, except where the payment of multiple Federal Torts Claims Act claims arising from the same incident will exceed $100,000.00 in the aggregate and thereby require approval of the Department of Justice. In this latter instance, the claims and the investigative report shall be forwarded to the Judge Advocate General for action. (2) The adjudicating authority shall evaluate and, where liability is established, attempt to settle claims for amounts within its adjudicating authority. Permission of higher authority to conduct settlement negotiations to effect such settlements is not necessary. Negotiation at settlement figures above the adjudicating authority's payment limits may be attempted if the claimant is informed that the final decision on the claim will be made at a higher level. (3) If a claim cannot be approved, settled, compromised, or denied within the adjudicating authority limits established in this instruction, the claim shall be referred promptly to the Judge Advocate General. The following materials shall be forwarded with the claim: (i) An official endorsement or letter of transmittal containing a recommendation on resolution of the claim. (ii) A memorandum of law containing a review of applicable law, an evaluation of liability, and recommendation on the settlement value of the case. This memorandum should concentrate on the unusual aspects of applicable law, chronicle the attempts to resolve the claim at the local level, provide information about the availability of witnesses, and outline any other information material to a resolution of the claim, i.e., prior dealings with the claimant's attorney, local procedural rules, or peculiarities that may make trial difficult. The memorandum should not repeat information readily obtained from the investigative report and should be tailored to the complexity of the issues presented. An abbreviated memorandum should be submitted if the claim is statutorily barred because of the statute of limitations or Federal Employees' Compensation Act or otherwise barred because of the Feres doctrine. (iii) The original investigative report and all allied papers. (iv) The original claim filed by the claimant (and the envelope in which it arrived, if preserved). The adjudicating authority shall retain at least one copy of all papers forwarded to the Judge Advocate General under this section. (d) Preparing litigation reports. A litigation report is prepared when a lawsuit is filed and a complaint received. The report is addressed to the Department of Justice official or the U.S. Attorney having cognizance of the matter. The report is a narrative summary of the facts upon which the suit is based and has as enclosures the claims file and a memorandum of law on the issues presented. (1) When the claim has been forwarded to the Judge Advocate General prior to the initiation of a suit, litigation reports originate in the Claims and Tort Litigation Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General. (2) When, however, the claim has not been forwarded and is still under the cognizance of the Naval Legal Service Command claims office, that command will ordinarily be required to prepare and forward the litigation report to the requesting organization. In this instance, the litigation report should be sent directly to the cognizant Department of Justice official or U.S. Attorney with a copy of the report and all enclosures to the Judge Advocate General.
Title 32: National Defense
PART 750—GENERAL CLAIMS REGULATIONS
Subpart A—General Provisions for Claims
§ 750.8 Claims: Responsibility of the adjudicating authority.
