§ 3.04.030. General procedure.

1.

If a party believes that the District may be responsible for damages, loss or injury, the District must be notified of the claim as soon as the claimant is aware of the damages, loss or injury. However, in no instance shall such notification occur after the expiration of the time limits provided in Government Code section 911.2. If the District determines that it is responsible for any damages, loss or injury, its policy is to promptly and fairly compensate the claiming party. If the District determines that it is only partially responsible for any damages, loss or injury, the District will pay its proportionate share.

2.

To evaluate a claim, the District must determine how the incident happened, whether it was a cause of the incident, the extent of the damages, and what the law considers fair compensation. In order to allow the District to make this determination, the claiming party must timely complete and submit the Standard Tort Claim Form provided by the District along with all supporting documentation. The District will notify a claimant within 20 days of submittal of a claim if the claim is improperly submitted or untimely.

3.

If the claim is both valid and timely, the Human Resources/Risk Management Division will review the claim and conduct an investigation which may involve but is not limited to a review of records, interviews of employees or witnesses, review of telephone records and recordings, and a technical evaluation. The District's goal is to reach a decision on all timely and validly submitted claims within 45 days of receipt.

4.

The District is not responsible for damages that it does not cause or that are the result of forces beyond its control. For example, in most instances the District is not responsible for:

Power outages, voltage fluctuations or property damage caused by earthquakes, weather-related conditions (such as lightning, floods, extreme storms, heat or winds) or other acts of nature.

5.

If the District determines that a claim is validly submitted, the General Manager has the authority to approve or deny claims in amounts less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). A claim in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) will be reviewed by the Board of Directors.

(SEE ALSO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE §§ 905—949)

Refer to CVWD Standard Tort Claim Form

( Res. No. 2011-2-2, (Policy No. 8.2), 2-22-2011 )