CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: LIABILITY CLAIMS PROCEDURE & LITIGATION NO.: B-5
PURPOSE:
To establish the respon
sibility and procedure for handlingthe disposition of liability claims and authorizing paymentlitigation.
POLICY:
1. T
he City Attorney shall decidehave the following authority regarding the disposition of claims under $20,000 and may reject claims up to $100,000 or when the amount is not statedlitigation without further action ofby the City Council. :
a. To allow, compromise, and settle clai ms made under the California Government Claims upAct (hereinafter “claims”) in an amount not to exceed $50,000. b. To reject claims seeking damages in an amount not exceeding $250,000. c. To r
eject the following claims, regardless of amount demanded:
(1) Claims that do not have an amount stated.
(2) Unenforc
eable claims (e.g., if the City is not the proper party). (3) Claims that
can be tendered to $100a third party for defense and/or indemnification.
(4) Frivolous claims. For purposes of this
Policy, “frivolous claims” shall mean any
claim that does not contain facts sufficient to demonstrate City liability. d. To allow, compromis
e, and settle litigation in an amount not to exceed $50,000 may be approved by.
e. To allow, compromise, and settle litigat
ion in an amount be tween $50,000.01 and
$100,000 with the concurrence of the City Manager and . f. Despite the authorit
y provided above, the City Attorney. The following procedure may, in their discretion, present any claim or litigation matter to the City Council.
Attachment 2
CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: LIABILITY CLAIMS PROCEDURE & LITIGATION NO.: B-5
g. Consistent with the authority provided to th e City Attorney for professional service agreements required for legal representa tion under Council Policy A-10, the City Attorney shall be usedauthorized to approve and establish litigation budgets per lawsuit or appeal in an amount up to $250,000 for Fiscal Year 2023- 24. This amount shall increase annually at the beginning of each fiscal year by the April Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Sa n Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (or its successor index) as published by the U.S. Department of Labor or its successor agency and rounded to the nearest thousand; but in no event shall the amount decrease.
2. The following procedures shall govern all claims received by the City:
a.
The City Clerk shall date-stamp all claims and lawsuits and forward to the City Attorney.
b. The City Attorney shall log claim or suit,claims and lawsuits and send confidential requests for information to the appropriate City departments ,. The Risk Manager shall set reserves, and send information for a loss run entry. Copies of the claim or lawsuit shall be given to the Risk Manager within 24 hoursfive calendar days of receipt. c.
The Risk Manager shall review th e claims and lawsuits when received , and submit them to the Third-Party Administrator when appropriate to further investigate, and recommend settlement according to the procedure set forth below.
The Third-Party Ad
ministrator shall investigate the("TPA”) for public liability/property damage third-party risk claims receivedadministration services and:
(1)
Prepare a file review that includes an analysis of steps to be taken to resolve the case, establish a case reserve, including expe nse Medicare Secondary Payer mandatory reporting services, and allocated reserve, utilize information sent by City departments, discuss with the Risk Ma nager, conduct investigations, and conduct settlement negotiations when appropriate. any other related services pursuant to agreement.
(2)
Provide accurate and timely loss runs to the Risk Manager and the City’s JPA or excess carrier.
d.
The Risk Manager and City Attorney will meet regularly as necessary to coordinate, discuss further action on files, and discu ss settlements. The Risk Manager and City
CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: LIABILITY CLAIMS PROCEDURE & LITIGATION NO.: B-5
Attorney shall keep one another informed of case activity, including Council actions and major case decisions.
ed.
When the City Attorney approves payment or partial payment, the Risk ManagerCity Attorney shall inform claimant, negotiate rega rding terms of the settlement, obtain signed release of claims from claimant, and provide checkarrange for payment of the settlement upon receipt of signed release.
2. The City Attorney, 3. When claims or lawsuits that do not fall within Section 1 of this Policy are proposed to be settled , paid, or paid for $100,000 or more,rej ected, the City Attorney shall place the claim on the City Council AgendaClosed or Open Session agenda, whichever is legally appropriate, for consideration within 45 days of filing and submit a recommendation to Council for payment.disposition of the claim. The following procedure shall be used:
a. City Council shall have authority t
o approve payment of claims or settlements in whole
or in part above $100,000.
b. When paymentsettlement of a cl
aim or lawsuit is approved by the Council, the City
Attorney shall obtain a release of claims and provide check to claimantarrange for payment of the settlement upon receipt of a signed release; retains file for two years.. c.
When denial is recommended, b. The City Attorney shall retain the file for a period consistent with the City’s Retention Schedule.
c.
When rejection of the claim is authorized by the City Council, the City Attorney shall notify the claimant in accordance with applicable law.
34. An
employee, when asked, shall inform claimants that claims must be filed with the City Clerk. Employees areshall not topersonally accept any claims personally or admitand shall seek legal assistance from the City Attorney before admitting responsibility. for any act or omission as a City employee. All department reports of claims investigations should be marked “Confidential at the Request of the City Attorney.”confidential and treated as such.
45. The City Attorney shall submit monthly reportsa quarterly report to the City Council indicatingregarding all claims that have been paid andor rejected. The report shall include
CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: LIABILITY CLAIMS PROCEDURE & LITIGATION NO.: B-5
information pertaining to the claimantclaimant’s name, amount of claim, a brief description of the claim, and reasonthe basis for settlement or rejection.).
Revised: February 27, 2024, Resolution No. _________
Revised: December 4, 2018, Resolution No. 18280
Effective Date: February 23, 1993, Resolution No. 15541
CNL POL
B05-501CP-so