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B-199073 1 (1980-07-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadqsk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCCU rNG' OFFICE WASHINGTON- 0,C. 20549 .,_ WN5.- R~tJ'ELEASE0.I B-199073 July 1, I0 The Honorable Alice Daniel Assistant Attorney General Civil Division Department of Justice Attention: Lawrence F. Ledebur Director, Torts Branch Dear Ms. Daniel: This is in reply to your letter of May 19, 1980, in which you propose a change in procedures with respect to settlements negotiated by the Justice Department in Suits in Admiralty Act (46 U.S.C. §S 741-752W and Public Vessels Act (46 U.S.C. SS 781-790 cases. You state that current practice is to obtain consent judgments for-all such settlements. You propose to re- place consent judgments with stipulations of compromise such as those used ifi cases under the Federal Tort Claims Act. While we cannot be certain exactly how or why the use of consent judgments developed in this context, it may have been be- cause the permanent judgment appropriation (31 U.S.C. S 724a when originally enacted in 1956, was applicable only to. judgments and not to c6mpromise settlements. Consent judgments thus became commonly used in the Iate 1950's in order to take advantage of the prompt payment made possible by 31 U.S.C. § 724a A 1961 amendment, Pub. L. No. 87-187, 75 Stat. 415, expanded 31 U.S.C. S 724a-to include compromise settlements, and also amended 28 U.S.C. S 2414Vo provide that compromise settlements made by the Attorney General would be paid in the same manner as judgments in like cases. Thus, as the law now exists, unless one were to question the basic authority of the Justice Department to compro- mise a suit, we see no reason why it should make any difference whether the operating document for payment purposes is a stipula- tion of compromise or a consent judgment. Accordingly, we have no objection to your proposal to use compromise stipulations instead of consent judgments in cases un- der the Suits in Admiralty Act and Public Vessels Act. in order to be certified for payrment, the stipulation must be properly executed, and must expressly provide that--