12

1 actions and proceedings pending on, or filed on or after,

2 date of enactment of this Act.

3

the

(b)(1) With respect to any civil action or proceeding 4 pending on the date of enactment against a Federal employee 5 in his individual capacity, the plaintiff may, upon timely 6 demand, (A) retain his right to a trial by jury if the demand 7 for trial by jury is made prior to or on the date of enactment, 8 or (B) elect a trial by jury if the time for election of a trial by 9 jury pursuant to applicable law has not expired as of the dat 10 of enactment, except that in any case in which a trial by jury 11 is elected under this paragraph, the provisions of section 12 2674(c) of this title, as added by section 3 of this Act, which 13 relate to liquidated damages, shall not apply.

14 (2) With respect to any civil action or proceeding pend15 ing against a Federal employee in his individual capacity on 16 appeal, or pending against a Federal employee in his individ17 ual capacity in a State court in which the time for removal 18 pursuant to section 2679(d) of this title has expired, the 19 amendments made by this Act shall not apply, except that 20 the United States shall be substituted for the defendant em21 ployee upon certification by the Attorney General that the 22 defendant employee was acting within the scope of his office 23 or employment at the time of the incident out of which the 24 action or proceeding arose.

S. 1775-is

13

1 (3) The provisions of section 2675(a) of this title shall 2 not apply to a civil action or proceeding against a Federal 3 employee in his individual capacity pending on the date of

4 enactment of this Act, if the provisions of section 2675(a)

5 were inapplicable to the action or proceeding when filed.

S. 1775-is

89-232 O 82 12

The Federal Tort Claims Act1

Note: The basic provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act appear in 28 USC §§ 1346(b), 2671-2680. Also included in this Appendix, however, are other statutory provisions which have direct relevance to the Act.

The Regulations of the Attorney General and of the federal agencies relating to claims under the Act are set forth in Appendices 38-40, infra.

Various sections of the Tort Claims Act were amended in 1966. 1 Those amendments apply only to claims accruing on and after January 18, 1967.2 Claims accruing prior to that date are governed by the former language of the Act. The content of the 1966 amendments is incorporated into the text of the Act as set forth below. The pre-1966 language is set forth in italics in footnotes keyed to each section which was amended in 1966. This Appendix includes the following sections of the U.S. Code:

5 USC § 3374.

7 USC § 943.

Assignments of employees from State or local governments.

[Rural Telephone Bank] Special provisions governing telephone bank as a Federal agency until conversion of ownership, control, and operation.

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Volunteers in the National Forests Program; employment status of volunteers.

Malpractice protection

Peace Corps Volunteers; tort claims.

15 USC § 2053.

16 USC § 558c.

22 USC § 817.

22 USC § 2504[h].

28 USC § 1291.

Final decisions of district courts.

28 USC § 2110.

Time for appeal to Court of Claims in tort claims cases.

PL 89-506, 80 Stat 306 (1966).

2 Section 10, PL 89-506, 80 Stat 308, provides. "This Act shall apply to claims

accruing six months or more after the date of its enactment." The date of enactment was July 18, 1966.

(Rel.14-3/81 Pub.342)

28 USC § 1291. Final decisions of district courts.

The courts of appeals shall have jurisdiction of appeals from all final decisions of the district courts of the United States, the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone, the District Court of Guam, and the District Court of the Virgin Islands, except where a direct review may be had in the Supreme Court.

28 USC § 1346. United States as defendant.

(b) Subject to the provisions of chapter 1713 of this title, the district courts, together with the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone and the District Court of the Virgin Islands, shall have exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions on claims against the United States, for money damages, accruing on and after January 1, 1945, for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.

(c) The jurisdiction conferred by this section includes jurisdiction of any set-off, counterclaim, or other claim or demand whatever on the part of the United States against any plaintiff commencing an action under this section. (d) The district courts shall not have jurisdiction under this section of:

(1) Any civil action or claim for a pension;

(2) Any civil action or claim to recover fees, salary, or compensation for official services of officers or employees of the United States.

28 USC § 1402. United States as defendant.

(b) Any civil action on a tort claim against the United States under

3 Chapter 171 of Title 28 comprises sec

tions 2671-2680, set out below in this Appendix.

(Rel. 14-3/81 Pub.342)

subsection (b) of section 1346 of this title may be prosecuted only in the judicial district where the plaintiff resides or wherein the act or omission complained of occurred.

28 USC § 1504. Tort claims. 4

The Court of Claims shall have jurisdiction to review by appeal final judgments in the district courts in civil actions based on tort claims brought under section 1346(b) of this title if the notice of appeal filed in the district court has affixed thereto the written consent on behalf of all the appellees that the appeal be taken to the Court of Claims.

28 USC § 2110. Time for appeal to Court of Claims in tort claims cases.

Appeals to the Court of Claims in tort claims cases, as provided in section 1504 of this title, shall be taken within ninety days after the entry of the final judgment of the district court.

28 USC § 2401. Time for commencing action against United States. 5

(b) A tort claim against the United States shall be forever barred unless it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or unless action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by certified or registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented.

Concerning appeals in Federal Tort Claims Act suits, see also 28 USC § 1291, supra.

5 Amended in 1966; see Note, p. A4, supra. Prior to the 1966 amendment, the text of § 2401(b) was as follows:

(b) A tort claim against the United States shall be forever barred unless action is begun within two years after such claim accrues or within one year after the date of enactment of this amendatory sentence, whichever is later, or unless, if it is a claim not exceeding S2,

500, it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or within one year after the date of enactment of this amendatory sentence, whichever is later. If a claim not exceeding $2,500 has been presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within that period of time, suit thereon shall not be barred until the expiration of a period of six months after either the date of withdrawal of such claim from the agency or the date of mailing notice by the agency of final disposition of the claim.

(Rel.14-3/81 Pub.342)