§ 295.30 - Establishing losses and damages.

§ 295.30 Establishing losses and damages.

(a) Burden of proof. The burden of proving Losses and damages rests with the Claimant. A Claimant may submit for the Administrative Record a statement explaining why the Claimant believes that the Losses and damages are compensable and any documentary evidence supporting the claim. Claimants will provide documentation, which is reasonably available, to corroborate the nature, extent and value of their losses and/or to execute affidavits in a form established by OCGFC. FEMA may compensate a Claimant for a Loss in the absence of supporting documentation, in its discretion, on the strength of an affidavit or Proof of Loss executed by the Claimant, if documentary evidence substantiating the loss is not reasonably available. FEMA may request that a business Claimant execute an affidavit, which states that the Claimant will provide documentary evidence, including but not limited to income tax returns, if requested by our DHS Office of the Inspector General or the Government Accountability Office during an audit of the claim.

(b) Proof of Loss. All Claimants are required to attest to the nature and extent of each Loss for which compensation is sought in the Proof of Loss. The Proof of Loss, which will be in a form specified by OCGFC, must be signed by the Claimant or the Claimant's legal representative if the Claimant is a not an individual or is an individual who lacks the legal capacity to execute the Proof of Loss. The Proof of Loss must be signed under penalty of perjury and subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C.1001, which establishes penalties for false statements. Non-subrogation Claimants who filed a Notice of Loss before January 1, 2001 should submit a signed Proof of Loss to OCGFC not later than June 19, 2001. Non-subrogation Claimants who file a Notice of Loss on or after January 1, 2001 should submit a signed Proof of Loss to OCGFC not later than 150 days after the date when the Notice of Loss was submitted. These deadlines may be extended at the discretion of the Director of OCGFC for good cause. If a non-subrogation Claimant fails to submit a signed Proof of Loss within the timeframes set forth in this section and does not obtain an extension from the Director of OCGFC, OCGFC may administratively close the claim and require the Claimant to repay any partial payments made on the claim. Subrogation Claimants will submit the Proof of Loss contemporaneously with filing the Notice of Loss.

(c) Release and Certification Form. All Claimants who receive compensation under the CGFAA are required to sign a Release and Certification Form. The Release and Certification Form must be executed by the Claimant or the Claimant's legal representative if the Claimant is an entity or lacks the legal capacity to execute the Release and Certification Form. The Release and Certification Form must be received by OCGFC within 120 days of the date when the Authorized Official's Determination is rendered under § 295.32, or if subsequent proceedings occur under Subpart E of these regulations, not later than 60 days after the date when further review of the decision (if available) is precluded. The United States will not attempt to recover compensatory damages paid to a Claimant who has executed and returned a Release and Certification Form within the periods provided above, except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation by the Claimant or the Claimant's representative, failure of the Claimant to cooperate with an audit as required by § 295.35 or a material mistake by FEMA.