LEGISLATION RELATING TO THE COURT OF CLAIMS [PUBLIC LAW 356-83D CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 199-2D SESSION] S. 24 AN ACT To permit review of decisions of the heads of departments, or their representatives or boards, involving questions arising under Government contracts Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no provision of any contract entered into by the United States, relating to the finality or conclusiveness of any decision of the head of any department or agency or his duly authorized representative or board in a dispute involving a question arising under such contract, shall be pleaded in any suit now filed or to be filed as limiting judicial review of any such decision to cases where fraud by such official or his said representative or board is alleged: Provided, however, That any such decision shall be final and conclusive unless the same is fraudulent or capricious or arbitrary or so grossly erroneous as necessarily to imply bad faith, or is not supported by substantial evidence. SEC. 2. No Government contract shall contain a provision making final on a question of law the decision of any administrative official, representative, or board. Approved May 11, 1954. (68 Stat. 81; 41 U. S. C. A 321, 322). XXXIV (See 342 U. S. 98.) LEGISLATION RELATING TO THE COURT OF CLAIMS [PRIVATE LAW 368-83D CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 216-2D SESSION] H. R. 4799 AN ACT For the relief of Otho F. Hipkins Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to Otho F. Hipkins, the sum of $10,000. The payment of such sum shall be in full settlement of all claims of the said Otho F. Hipkins against the United States for services performed and expenses incurred in connection with the planning, development, and demonstration of a practical traction device for the United States Army, the United States Court of Claims (Congressional Number 17866, decided April 7, 1953, pursuant to H. Res. 734, Eighty-first Congress, second session) having found that the United States received substantial benefits from the work and efforts of claimant: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. Approved May 17, 1954. (See 124 C. Cls. 748.) LEGISLATION RELATING TO THE COURT OF CLAIMS [PRIVATE LAW 370-83D CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 219-2D SESSION] H. R. 2033 AN ACT To confer jurisdiction upon the Court of Claims to hear, determine, and render judgment upon certain claims of the Columbia Basin Orchard, the Seattle Association of Credit Men, and the Perham Fruit Corporation. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the Court of Claims, notwithstanding the lapse of time or any provision of law to the contrary, to hear, determine, and render judgment upon all claims of the Columbia Basin Orchard, the Seattle Association of Credit Men, and the Perham Fruit Corporation (all corporations of Washington) against the United States arising out of the flooding, during the period beginning June 1, 1939, and ending April 30, 1940, of certain real property owned by the said Columbia Basin Orchard in Grant County, Washington, insofar as such flooding was the result of certain drilling operations carried out by the Bureau of Reclamation in the course of its investigations preliminary to the construction of a dam and an equalizing reservoir in the Grand Coulee: Provided, however, That nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as an inference of liability on the part of the United States Government. SEC. 2. All claims against the United States within the purview of the first section of this Act shall be forever barred unless action is begun thereon within one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. Approved May 21, 1954. (See 116 C. Cls. 348.) XXXVI LEGISLATION RELATING TO THE COURT OF CLAIMS [PUBLIC LAW 439-83D CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 411-2D SESSION] S. 129 AN ACT To amend the Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1049), authorizing the Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin to submit claims to the Court of Claims Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the second proviso in section 3 of the Act of August 30, 1935 (49 Stat. 1049, 1050), entitled "An Act authorizing the Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin to submit claims to the Court of Claims", is hereby amended by deleting "5 per centum" and by inserting in lieu thereof "10 per centum". Approved June 29, 1954. (68 Stat. 321). (Court of Claims Docket No. 45162. See 113 C. Cls. 16; 114 C. Cls. 71.) XXXVII LEGISLATION RELATING TO THE COURT OF CLAIMS [PRIVATE LAW 906-83D CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 1111-2D SESSION] S. 3017 AN ACT For the relief of Thomas Barron Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to Thomas Barron, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, the sum of $3,000, such sum being the amount determined by the United States Court of Claims, acting pursuant to S. Res. 216, Eighty-second Congress, to be equitably due to the said Thomas Barron. The payment of such sum shall be in full satisfaction of his claim again the United States for compensation for typewriter parts, tools, and equipment which were destroyed by fire at the naval air station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on October 15, 1948, when the said Thomas Barron was engaged in contract work for the United States Navy: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. Approved August 31, 1954. (See 127 C. Cls. 186.) XXXVIII |