An Act to deny to the District of Columbia, in suits on claims arising out of the negligent operation of vehicles owned or controlled by it and operated by Its employees in the performance of their official duties, the defense of governmental immunity, to relieve such employees of liability in such cases to third persons, and for other purposes
PL 86-654 (S.3616), enacted 07/14/1960

74 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-654-JULY 14, I960 
519 
Public Law 86-654 
AN ACT 
July 1
4
^ I960 
To deny to the District of Columbia, in suits on claims arising out of the negli- 
\——i 
gent operation of vehicles owned or controlled by it and operated by its 
employees in the performance of their oflBcial duties, the defense of govern-
mental immunity, to relieve such employees of liability in such cases to third 
persons, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and Rouse of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may No^Li'abu'S^°Ac^t! 
be cited as the "District of Columbia Employee Non-Liability Act." 
SEC. 2. As used in this Act the term— 
(a) "Commissioners" means the Commissioners of the District of 
Columbia, or their designated agent. 
(b) "Court" means either the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia or the Municipal Court for the District of Colum-
bia, depending upon the amount involved in an action under the author-
ity of this Act as related to the limits of jurisdiction of the said courts. 
(c) "District" means the Government of the District of Columbia, 
a municipal corporation. 
(d) "Emergency run" means the movement of a District-owned 
vehicle, by direction of the operator or of some other authorized person 
or agency, under circumstances which lead the operator or such j>erson 
or agency to believe that such vehicle should proceed expeditiously 
upon a particular mission or to a designated location for the purpose of 
dealing with a supposed fire or other emergency, an alleged violation 
of a statute or regulation, or other incident requiring emergency 
action, or the prompt transportation to a place of treatment or greater 
safety of an alleged sick or injured person. 
(e) "Emergency vehicle" means a vehicle assigned (1) to the Fire 
Department of the District or to the Metropolitan Police Department 
and not designated by the Commissioners as a nonemergency vehicle; 
or (2) to other departments or officials of the District and designated 
by the Commissioners as an emergency vehicle. 
(f) "Employee" means a person serving as an officer or employee of 
the District, whether or not paid by the District, or a person formerly 
so engaged, or the representative of a deceased officer or employee of 
the District. 
(g) "Vehicle" means every type of conveyance or machine capable 
of movement on land, or in water or air, including an animal being 
ridden and any animal-drawn machinery or conveyance. 
SEC. 3. Hereafter the District of Columbia shall not assert the de-
fense of governmental immunity in any suit at law in which a claim 
is asserted against it for money only on account of damage to or loss 
of property or on account of personal injury or death caused by the 
negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the District 
occurring as the result of the operation by such employee, within the 
scope 01 his office or employment, of a vehicle owned or con-
trolled by the District: Provided, That in the case of a claim arising 
out of the operation of an emergency vehicle on an emer^ncy run the 
District shall be liable only for gross negligence. 
Nothing contained 
in this Act shall be construed as depriving the District of any other 
defense in law or equity which it may have to any such action or give 
to any person, corporation, partnership, or association any right to 
institute or maintain any suit against the District which it did not 
have prior to the date of enactment hereof. 
SEC. 4. The judgment in any such action shall constitute a complete 
bar to any action by the claimant by reason of the same subject matter 
against the employee of the District whose act or omission gave rise to 
520 
PUBLIC LAW 86-655-JULY 14, 1960 
[74 ST A T , 
Effective date. 
the claim. 
No suit shall be instituted involving any claim described 
in section 3 unless the claimant shall have first given notice to the Dis-
trict in accordance with the Act of February 28, 1933 (47 Stat. 1370; 
sec. 12-208, D.C. Code, 1951 edition) and shall have presented to the 
District in writing a claim for money damages in connection therewith, 
and the District has had six months from the date of such filing within 
which to make final disposition of such claim. 
The administrative 
disposition of a claim by the District shall not be competent evidence 
of liability or amount of damages in proceedings on any such claim. 
SEC. 5. In any case involving any claim described in section 3 in 
which the trial court shall consider the verdict excessive, the court 
may order a remittitur of so much of the amount of such verdict or 
judgment, as the case may be, as it considers excessive, and either 
permit the party in whose favor the verdict was rendered or the party 
recovering such judgment, as the case may be, to file a remittitur. 
SEC. 6. After the effective date of this Act, no civil action or proceed-
ing shall be brought or be maintained against an employee of the 
District for loss of or damage to property or for personal injury, 
including death, resulting from the operation by such employee of any 
vehicle if it be alleged in the complaint or develop in a later stage 
of the proceeding that the employee was acting within the scope of 
his office or employment, unless the District shall, in an action brought 
against it for such damage or injury, including death, specifically 
deny liability on the ground that the employee was not, at the time 
and place alleged, acting within the scope of his office or employment. 
If in any such civil action or proceeding pending in a court in the 
District of Columbia as of the effective date of this Act the District 
has not been named as a defendant, said District shall be joined as a 
defendant and after its answer has been filed and subject to the pro-
visions of the preceding sentence, the action shall be dismissed as to 
the employee and the case shall proceed as if the District had been a 
party defendant from the inception thereof. 
SEC. 7. Nothing in this Act ^hall be construed so as to relieve any 
District employee from liability to the District for negligent damage 
to or loss of District property. 
SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect thirty days after its enactment. 
Approved July 14, 1960. 
July 14, 1960 
[S. 2674] 
Public Law 86-655 
AN ACT 
To authorize the acquisition of certain lands for addition to Harpers Ferry 
National Monument, and for other purposes. 
Harpers 
F e r r y 
National M o n u-
ment. 
16 u s e 
450bb-
450bb-2. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That to further the 
commemorative purposes of the Act of June 30, 1944 (58 Stat. 645), 
by providing historic properties and administrative facilities, the 
Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to acquire, in the manner 
hereafter stated, the Storer College site, the original site of John 
Brown's "Fort" and the old Federal armory, comprising altogether 
approximately thirty acres, for addition to Harpers Ferry National 
Monument. 
SEC. 2. (a) The Secretary of the Interior may accept the convey-
ance of all right, title, and interest of the trustees of Storer College 
in and to the lands and improvements in Harpers Ferry, West Vir-
ginia, granted to their predecessors for educational purposes pursuant