[Title 32 CFR 751.6]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 32 - NATIONAL DEFENSE]
[Subtitle A - Department of Defense (Continued)]
[Chapter Vi - DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY]
[Subchapter E - CLAIMS]
[Part 751 - PERSONNEL CLAIMS REGULATIONS]
[Subpart A - Claims Against the United States]
[Sec. 751.6 - Claims payable.]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


32NATIONAL DEFENSE52002-07-012002-07-01false751.6Sec. 751.6NATIONAL DEFENSEDepartment of Defense (Continued)DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYCLAIMSPERSONNEL CLAIMS REGULATIONSClaims Against the United States
Sec. 751.6  Claims payable.

    Claims for loss, damage, or destruction of property may be 
considered as

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set out below if possession of the property was reasonable and useful 
under the circumstances and the loss did not result from the negligence 
of the claimant.
    (a) Transportation and storage losses. (1) Incurred during 
transportation under orders, whether in possession of the Government, 
carrier, storage warehouse, or other Government contractor.
    (2) Incurred during travel under orders, including temporary duty.
    (3) Incurred during travel on a space available basis on a military 
aircraft, vessel, or vehicle.
    (4) Do-it-yourself (DITY) moves. In certain circumstances, loss of 
or damage to property during a DITY move is compensable. Claimants, 
however, are required to substantiate the fact of loss or damage in 
shipment. Claimants who do not prepare inventories have difficulty 
substantiating thefts. In addition, unless evidence shows that something 
outside the claimant's control caused the damage, breakage is presumed 
to be the result of improper packing by the claimant. For example, if a 
claimant's truck is rear-ended by a drunk driver during a DITY move, it 
is out of claimant's control. If the claimant can substantiate that he 
was free from negligence, he can file a claim for damages to his 
household goods.
    (5) Shipment or storage at the claimant's expense. The shipment or 
storage is considered Government-sponsored if the Government later 
reimburses the claimant for it. The Government, however, will not 
compensate a claimant for loss or damage that occurs while property is 
being shipped or stored at the claimant's expense, even if the 
Government reimburses the claimant for the shipment or storage fees. The 
reason for this is that there is no contract, called a Government Bill 
of Lading (GBL), between Government and the carrier. In such cases the 
claimant must claim against the carrier.
    (b) Losses at assigned quarters or other authorized places. Damage 
or loss caused by fire, explosion, theft, vandalism, lightning, flood, 
earthquake, and unusual occurrences. Losses due to theft may only be 
paid if the claimant took reasonable measures to safeguard the property 
and the theft occurred as a result of a forced entry. Claimants are 
expected to secure windows and doors of their barracks, quarters, wall 
lockers, and other storage areas. Claimants are expected to store 
valuables in a secure area within their barracks, quarters, and storage 
areas. Claimants are also expected to take extra measures to protect 
cash, valuable jewelry, and similar small, easily pilferable items. 
Normally, such items should be kept in a locked container within a 
secured room. It is also advisable that the locked container be large 
enough that it is not convenient for a thief to carry off. Bicycles 
located at quarters or on base must be secured to a fixed object. 
Overseas housing is considered assigned quarters for claimants who are 
not local inhabitants.
    (c) Vehicle losses. (1) Incurred while a vehicle is used in the 
performance of military duty, if such use was authorized or directed for 
the convenience of the Government, provided the travel did not include 
commuting to or from the permanent place of duty, and did not arise from 
mechanical or structural defect of the vehicle. There is no requirement 
that the loss be due to fire, flood, hurricane, or other unusual 
occurrence, or to theft or vandalism. As a general rule, however, travel 
is not considered to be for the convenience of the Government unless it 
was pursuant to written orders authorizing use for which the claimant is 
entitled to reimbursement. The claimant must be free from negligence in 
order to be paid for a collision loss. Travel by the claimant to other 
buildings on the installation is not considered to be under orders for 
the convenience of the Government. Travel off the installation without 
written orders may only be deemed to be for the convenience of the 
Government if the claimant was expressly directed by his superior to use 
POV to accomplish the mission. The issuance of written orders after the 
fact raises the presumption that travel was not for the convenience of 
the Government. The maximum payment of $2,000.00 authorized by the 
Allowance List-Depreciation Guide still applies to loss of or damage to 
vehicles and contents. This maximum does not apply to DITY moves.

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    (2) Incurred while a vehicle is shipped at Government expense, 
provided the loss or damage did not arise from mechanical or structural 
defect of the vehicle during such shipment. Damage caused during 
shipment at the claimant's expense or while the vehicle is being moved 
to or from the port by an agent of the claimant is not compensable.
    (3) Incurred while a vehicle is located at quarters or other 
authorized place of lodging, including garages, carports, driveways, 
assigned parking spaces, if the loss or damage is caused by fire, flood, 
hurricane, theft, or vandalism, or other unusual occurrence. Vandalism 
is damage intentionally caused. Stray marks caused by children playing, 
falling branches, gravel thrown by other vehicles, or similar 
occurrences are not vandalism. The amount payable on vandalism claims is 
limited to $2,000.00.
    (4) Incurred while a vehicle is located at places other than 
quarters but on a military installation, if the loss or damage is caused 
by fire, flood, hurricane, theft, or vandalism, or other unusual 
occurrence. ``Military installation'' is used broadly to describe any 
fixed land area, wherever situated, controlled, and used by military 
activities or the Department of Defense (DOD). A vehicle properly on the 
installation should be presumed to be used incident to the claimant's 
service. A vehicle that is not properly insured or registered in 
accordance with local regulations is not properly on the installation. A 
vehicle left in a remote area of the installation that is not a 
designated long-term parking area for an undue length of time is 
presumed not to be on the installation incident to service.
    (5) Theft of property stored inside a vehicle. Claimants are 
expected to lock doors and windows. Neither the passenger compartment 
nor the trunk of a vehicle is a proper place for the long-term storage 
of property unconnected with the use of the vehicle. The passenger 
compartment of a vehicle does not provide adequate security, except for 
very short periods of time for articles that are not of high value or 
easily pilferable. Car covers and bras are payable if bolted or secured 
to the vehicle with a wire locking device.
    (6) Rental vehicles. Damage to rental vehicles is considered under 
paragraphs of the Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR), rather than 
as a loss incident to service.
    (d) Mobile homes and contents in shipment. Claims for damage to 
mobile homes and contents in shipment are payable unless the damage was 
caused by structural or mechanical defects (see Sec. 751.12(g) below on 
mobile homes).
    (e) Borrowed property (including vehicles). Loss or damage to 
borrowed property is compensable if it was borrowed for claimant's or 
dependent's own use. A statement will be provided by the owner of the 
property attesting to the use of the property by the claimant.
    (f) Clothing and articles being worn. Repairs/replacement of 
clothing and articles being worn while on a military installation or in 
the performance of official duty may be paid if loss is caused by fire, 
flood, hurricane, theft, or vandalism, or other unusual occurrence. This 
paragraph shall be broadly construed in favor of compensation, but see 
Sec. 751.5(c) for the definition of unusual occurrence. Articles being 
worn include hearing aids, eyeglasses, and items the claimant is 
carrying, such as a briefcase.
    (g) Personal property held as evidence or confiscated property. If 
property belonging to the victim of a crime is to be held as evidence 
for an extended period of time (in excess of 2 months) and the temporary 
loss of the property will work a grave hardship on the claimant, a claim 
for the loss may be considered for payment. This provision will not be 
used unless every effort has been made to determine whether secondary 
evidence, such as photographs, may be substituted for the item. No 
compensation is allowed to a person suspected of an offense for property 
seized from that same person in the investigation of that offense. This 
also applies to property a foreign government unjustly confiscates or an 
unjust change in a foreign law that forces surrender or abandonment of 
property.
    (h) Theft from possession of claimant. Theft from the person of the 
claimant is reimbursable if the theft occurred by use of force, 
violence, or threat to do

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bodily harm, or by snatching or pickpocketing, and at the time of theft 
the claimant was either on a military installation, utilizing a 
recreation facility operated or sponsored by the Department of Defense 
or any agency thereof, or in the performance of official duty. The theft 
must have been reported to appropriate police authorities as soon as 
practicable, and it must have been reasonable for the claimant to have 
had on his person the quality and the quantity of the property allegedly 
stolen.
    (i) Property used for the benefit of the Government. Compensation is 
authorized where property is damaged or lost while being used in the 
performance of Government business at the direction or request of 
superior authority or by reason of military necessity.
    (j) Money deposited for safekeeping, transmittal, or other 
authorized disposition. Compensation is authorized for personal funds 
delivered to and accepted by military and civilian personnel authorized 
by the commanding officer to receive these funds for safekeeping, 
deposit, transmittal, or other authorized disposition, if the funds were 
neither applied as directed by the owner nor returned to the owner.
    (k) Fees--(1) For obtaining certain documents. The fees for 
replacing birth certificates, marriage certificates, college diplomas, 
passports, or similar documents may be allowed if the original or a 
certified copy is lost or destroyed incident to service. In general, 
compensation will only be allowed for replacing documents with a raised 
seal that are official in nature. No compensation will be allowed for 
documents that are representative of value, such as stock certificates, 
or for personal letters or records.
    (2) Estimate fees. An estimate fee is a fixed cost charged by a 
person in the business of repairing property to provide an estimate of 
what it would cost to repair property. An estimate fee in excess of 
$50.00 should be examined with great care to determine whether it is 
reasonable. A person becomes obligated to pay an estimate fee when the 
estimate is prepared. An estimate fee should not be confused with an 
appraisal fee, which is not compensable (see Sec. 751.7). A reasonable 
estimate fee is compensable if it is not going to be credited toward the 
cost of repair. If it is to be credited toward the cost of repair, it is 
not compensable regardless of whether the claimant chooses to have the 
work done. When an estimate fee is claimed, the file must reflect 
whether the fee is to be credited.