About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-219532 1 (1985-11-04)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadbza0001 and id is 1 raw text is: o' THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL DECIBION * . OF THE UNITED TATEL SWASHINGTON. D.c. 2s49 FILE: B-219532 DATE: November 4, 1985 MATTER OF: Veterans Administration - False Alarm Charges DIGEST: Unless expressly waived by statute, a Federal agency is not liable for a civil fine or pen- alty by reason of sovereign immunity. There- fore, appropriated funds cannot be used to pay a penalty imposed by the Boston City Fire Department for answering false alarms result- ing from a malfunction of a fire alarm system in a Veterans Administration Medical Center. The Veterans Administration .(VA) has requested an opinion as to Its liability for fees charged by the City of Boston for malfunctions of a fire detection/suppression system in the West Roxbury Veterans Administration Medical Center which result in needless responses by the Boston Fire Depdrtment. The VA takes the position that the fee is actually a penalty from which the Federal Government is insulated as a matter of sovereign immunity. We agree that the VA is not liable for the fees for the reasons discussed below. The City of Boston allows private fire alarm systems to be directly connected to the Fire Alarm Division of the Boston Fire Department. City of Boston Code, Ordinances, Title 14, Section 426, clause 262a. In addition to providing for the connection of fire alarm systems, the clause also provides: an additional fee * * * (flor every (private) alarm system malfunction resulting in a fire department response in the then next prior licensed year, $100.00 for each such through the fifth malfunction; $200.00 for each such in excess of five but less than eleven; $400.00 for each such in excess of ten but less than sixteen; and $800.00 for each such in excess of fifteen. For the purpose of this ordinance, a malfunction is defined as the failure of an alarm system to operate in the normal or usual manner, due to improper installation and/or maintenance of the system, resulting in the transmittal of a needless alarm signal to the fire department. Thus every private alarm licensee is potentially liable uuder this clause for the payment of fees when its fire alarm goes PUBLISHED DECISION p5 omp e. u.?Cor:; -efl.!A-

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most