Mayor Issues Order Delegating Authority for Settling Civil Lawsuits
On March 7, 2013, the Mayor of the District of Columbia issued an order that, inter alia, delegates to the Chief Risk Officer of the District of Columbia (“CRO”) limited authority to settle certain pre-litigation civil claims against the District of Columbia. Mayor’s Order 2013-054. Specifically, the order states that “[t]he CRO may, in his or her sole discretion, settle pre-litigation claims in an amount up to and including three hundred thousand dollars and zero cents ($300,000.00), and after consultation with the Attorney General, or his or her designee, settle pre-litigation claims in an amount up to and including five hundred thousand dollars and zero cents ($500,000.00).” Id. at 2. The order defines “pre-litigation claims” against the District of Columbia as “any claim against the District, not the subject of civil or administrative litigation, whenever the claim arises out of the alleged negligence or wrongful act, either of commission or omission, of any officer or employee of the District for whose alleged negligence or acts the District, if a private individual, would be liable prima facie to respond in damages, irrespective of whether such alleged negligence occurred or such acts were done in the performance of a municipal or governmental function of said District.” Id. at 1.