[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR750.8]

[Page 392-393]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                   CHAPTER VI--DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
 
PART 750_GENERAL CLAIMS REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
                 Subpart A_General Provisions for Claims
 
Sec. 750.8  Claims: Responsibility of the adjudicating authority.

    (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.

[[Page 393]]

    (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.