20 CFR 429.110 – Are there any limitations on SSA’s authority under this subpart?
(a) An award, compromise or settlement of a claim under this subpart in excess of $25,000 needs the prior written approval of the Attorney General or his designee. For the purposes of this paragraph, we treat a principal claim and any derivative or subrogated claim as a single claim.
Terms Used In 20 CFR 429.110
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(b) An administrative claim may be adjusted, determined, compromised, or settled under this subpart only after consultation with the Department of Justice when, in the opinion of SSA:
(1) A new precedent or a new point of law is involved;
(2) A question of policy is or may be involved;
(3) The United States is or may be entitled to indemnity or contribution from a third party and SSA is unable to adjust the third-party claim; or
(4) The compromise of a particular claim, as a practical matter, will or may control the disposition of a related claim in which the amount to be paid may exceed $25,000.
(c) An administrative claim may be adjusted, determined, compromised or settled only after consultation with the Department of Justice when it is learned that the United States, or an employee, agent, or cost-plus contractor of the United States, is involved in litigation based on a claim arising out of the same incident or transaction.