Chapter 243. to provide for the settlement of all outstanding claims against the District of Columbia, and conferring jurisdiction on the Court oi Claims to hear the sime, and for other purposes
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CHAP. 243.— An Act to provide for the settlement of all outstanding claims against the District of Columbia, and conferring jurisdiction on the Court oi Claims to hear the sime, and for other purposes.June 16, 1880. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Court of Claims.Jurisdiction extended to certain claims against the District of Columbia.Claims specified. That the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims is hereby extended to, and it shall have original legal and equitable jurisdiction of, all claims now existing against the district of Columbia arising out of contracts, made by the late Board of Public Works, and extensions thereof made by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and such claims as have arisen out of contracts made by the District Commissioners since the passage of the act of June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and of all claims for work done by the order or direction of the said Commissioners, and accepted by them for the use, purposes or benefit of the said district of Columbia, and prior to the fourteenth day of March, eighteen hundred and seventy-six; and all certificates of the anditor of said Board of Public Works, all certificates issued by the anditor and comptroller of the District of Columbia, all claims based on contracts made by the Levy Court, all sewer certificates, all sewer taxes not heretofore converted into three-sixty-five bonds, all measurements made by the engineers of said District of work done under contracts made since February twenty-first, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, for which no certificates have been issued to and received by the contractor or his assignee which certificates shall be prima facie evidence of the amount of work done, all claims based upon contracts made by the Board of Public Works for which no evidence of indebtedness has been issued.
Procedure.Said Court of Claims shall have the same power, proceed in the same manner, and be governed by the same rules, in respect to the mode of hearing, adjudication, and determination of said claims, as it now has in relation to the adjudication of claims*Proviso.*Additional rules authorized. against the United States: *Provided*, Said court may make such additional rules as may be necessary to save costs and prevent delays in the prosecution of such claims. When the trial of any claim against the District of Columbia, prosecuted 285 FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 243. 1880. under the provisions of this act, involves the taking and stating of aMay award a reference. long account, or the waking of measurements or computations involving the services of engineers, said court shall have power to award a reference to a competent referee to take and state such account, or to the engineer commissioner of the District to make and report such measurements and computations; and said referee orReferee to take evidence and report to the court; compensation. engineer shall report to the court the evidence taken by him for the information of said court, and any such referee shall be allowed such compensation for his services as the court may determine, not exceeding ten dollars per day for time actually employed to be paid on the order of the court by the Secretary of the Treasury and charged to the account of the District of Columbia.
Sec. 2. All such claims against the District of Columbia shall, in thePresentation, o f claims for prosecution. first instance, be prosecuted before the Court of Claims by the contractor his personal representatives or his assignee, in the same manner and subject to the same rules so far as applicable as claims against the United States are prosecuted therein, or to such other rules as the court shah prescribe. In any case if before trial either party requests Either party may request the court to find the facts before trial.Appeals.in writing a finding of facts by the court, there shall be the same right of appeal, either by the District of Columbia or by the claimant, and subject to the same rules and regulations, as are prescribed by law for appeals on behalf of the United States or claimants against the*Proviso.* United States from the judgments of the Court of Claims: *Provided*, That the prosecution of all such claims shall be commenced in the Court of Claims by the filing of the petition of the claimant, as required by the rules and practice of said court, within six months from the passage of this act; and all such claims against the District of Columbia now existing, and not so filed within said time shall be forever barred, except in cases of claimsClaims barred if prosecution is not commenced by filing petition within six months from date of passage of this act.*Proviso.* owned and held by persons under legal disabilities, in which case such claims shall be in like manner barred unless commenced as aforesaid within six months after the expiration of such disability: *Provided*, That all certificates, measurements, or other evidence of indebtedness, in the custody of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, shall be deposited with the Court of Claims, upon the application of any claimant.
When the validity of a number of claims depends substantially upon a like state of facts, they may be brought before the court in one petitionCases in a y be consolidated depending upon a like state of facts. in which all parties are joined, and may be tried together under such rules as the court may prescribe, and such judgments may be entered therein as the court may determine; and cases of like kindJudgments. may be consolidated and tried together whenever the court so orders.
Sec. 3. The Attorney-General of the United States shall have authority, and it shall Attorney-General of the United States authorized to defend 1 be district of Columbia.be his duty, to defend the District of Columbia against all such claimsagainst said District of Columbia prosecuted in said Court of Claims, and on appeal, in like manner as he is now by law required to defend the United States in said court, with the same power to interpose counter claims and offsets against claims and defences for frand practiced or attempted and all other legal defences, and with like power of appeal as in cases against the United States tried in said court.
Sec. 4. All laws now in force relating to prosecutions of claims against the United Laws in force, so far as applicable, shall apply.States in the Court of Claims shall apply, as far as applicable, to the prosecution, practice, hearing, and determination of claims against the District of Columbia authorized to be prosecuted under *Proviso.*Motions for new trial.*Proviso.*the provisions of this act: *Provided*, That motions for new trials shall be made by either party within twenty-days after the rendition of any judgment: *And provided further*, That in the trial of such cases no person shall be excluded as a witness because he or she is a party to or interested in the same.
Sec. 5. If no appeal be taken from the judgment and determinationJudgments on appeal within term limited by law, and final judgments to be paid by Secretary of the Treasury. of the Court of Claims in cases provided for in this act within the term limited by law for appealing from the judgments of said court, and in all cases of final judgments by the Court of Claims, or on appeal by the Supreme Court where the same arc affirmed in favor of the claimant, the sum due thereby shall be paid, as hereinafter provided, by the Secretary 286 FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 213. 1880. of the Treasury: *Provided*, That no payment shall be made except upon*Proviso.* the presentation to the Secretary of the Treasury of a copy of said judgment certified by the clerk of the Court of Claims, and signed by the chief justice, or, in his absence, by the presiding judge of said court. Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to demand of the sinking-fund commissioner of the District of Columbia so many of the three sixty-five bonds authorized by act of Congress approved 1874, ch. 337, Stat-., 18, 120.Payment of judgments in three-sixty-five bonds.June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-tour, and acts amendatory thereof as may be necessary for the payment of the judgments; and said sinking-fund commissioner is hereby directed to issue and deliver to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount of three sixty-five bonds required to satisfy the judgments; which bonds shall be received by said claimants at par in payment of such judgments, and shall bear date August first, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and mature at the *Proviso.*same time as other bonds of this issue: *Provided*, That before the delivery of such bonds as are issued in payment of judgments rendered as aforesaid on the claims aforesaid, the coupons shall be detached therefrom from the date of said bonds to the day upon which such claims were due and payable; and the gross amount of such bonds heretofore and hereafter issued shall not exceed in the aggregate fifteen millions *Proviso.*of dollars: *Provided*, The bonds issued by authority of this act shall be of no more binding force as to their payment on the Government of the 1874, ch. 337,[Stat., 18, 120](/us/stat/18/120).United States than the three sixty-five bonds issued under authority of the act of June t wentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four.
Sec. 7. In all cases prosecuted under the provisions of this act it shall be the duty of the claimant, after the commencement of said actions, to Prosecution.prosecute them in said court diligently; and after any issue of law or of fact shall be joined in any case, the Attorney-G en er al shall have power to place Joinder of issue of law or fact.Trial of ease.Dismissal for want of diligent prosecution.the same on the trial calendar of said court for trial; and hi all cases when any case has been reached in its order on the calendar, and the trial thereof has been unreasonably delayed by the claimant, the said court may, on motion of the Attorney General, on notice to the claimant, or his counsel, attorney, or solicitor, dismiss said claim; and such dismissal or final judgment on any claim shall be a conclusive bar against any further prosecution of such claim before any court or tribunal whatsoever.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay, according to the provisions of this act, the said judgments from time to time as they may be presented. Sec. 8. No claim shall be presented to, or considered by the Court ofClaims rejected by the board of and it excepted. Claims under the provisions of this act which was rejected by the Board of andit. Sec. 9. That the Treasurer of the United States as ex-officer sinking-fundRedemption of certificates of the board of and it authorized.1871, ch. 337,[Stat., 18, 120](/us/stat/18/120). commissioner of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized and directed to redeem the outstanding certificates of the late Board of andit, created by the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, with the interest accrued on said certificates by issuing and delivering to the owners or holders of such certificates, bonds of the District of Columbia as provided in section seven of the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, entitled “An act for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes”, and acts amendatory thereof, said bonds to bear the same date, same rate of interest, and interest and principal be payable at same time, and subject to all the conditions, pledges of faith, and exemptions as the bonds authorized to be issued by the said seventh section of said act, and shall be signed by the said treasurer as ex officio sinking-fund commissioner of the District of Columbia, and numbered, countersigned, sealed and registered as the said seventh section of said act prescribes detaching all coupons from said bonds up to the date of such certificates.
Sec. 10. No suit now pending for the collection of any claim basedPending suits not prejudiced by provisions of act. upon a contract or extension of contract herein before mentioned in the 287 FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 243, 244, 245. 1880. supreme court of the District of Columbia shall be in any manner prejudiced by the provisions of this act. Approved, June 16, 1880.