§4132 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

Authorizes the Commission to accept and decide claims from U.S. nationals for losses caused by wartime military action. That includes (a) loss, destruction, or physical damage to property in Albania, Austria, Czechoslovakia, the Free Territory of Danzig, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Yugoslavia, or territory that was part of Hungary or Rumania on December 1, 1937 but not included on September 15, 1947 (for losses from September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945), and property in territory occupied or attacked by Imperial Japan (July 1, 1937 to September 2, 1945) except Guam (claims from the Philippines are allowed only if the claimant swears they received no payment under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946). It also covers damage to ships or cargo owned by U.S. nationals (September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945), net losses under war‑risk insurance for such ships, and death, injury, or loss of property to U.S. civilian passengers on commercial vessels caused by German or Japanese military action (September 1, 1939 to December 11, 1941). Claims must involve property or ships owned by a U.S. national when the loss happened and must be a direct result of military operations or special measures taken because the owner was viewed as an enemy. Insurers or reinsurers may not collect awards as assignees or successors. For deaths, payments go only to beneficiaries in this order: spouse (if no children), spouse and children (split half/half), children (if no spouse), then parents. Injury awards go to the injured person. The Commission decides reasonable amounts for property lost on a vessel; if the owner died, payment follows the same beneficiary order for death.

Title 50, §4132

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Commission is directed to receive and to determine according to the provisions of this subchapter the validity and amount of claims of nationals of the United States for— (a)

(b)damage to, or loss or destruction of, ships or ship cargoes directly or indirectly owned by a national of the United States at the time such damage, loss, or destruction occurred, which was a direct consequence of military action by Germany or Japan during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending September 2, 1945; no award shall be made under this subsection in favor of any insurer or reinsurer as assignee or otherwise as successor in interest to the right of the insured;

(c)net losses under war-risk insurance or reinsurance policies or contracts, incurred in the settlement of claims for insured losses of ships directly or indirectly owned by a national of the United States at the time of the loss, damage, or destruction of such ships and at the time of the settlement of such claims, which insured losses were a direct consequence of military action by Germany or Japan during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending September 2, 1945; such net losses shall be determined by deducting from the aggregate of all payments made in the settlement of such insured losses the aggregate of the net amounts received by any such insurance companies on all policies of contracts of war-risk insurance or reinsurance on ships under which the insured was a national of the United States, after deducting expenses; and

(d)loss or damage on account of—

(1)the death of any person who, being then a civilian national of the United States and a passenger on any vessel engaged in commerce on the high seas, died or was killed as a result of military action by Germany or Japan which occurred during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 11, 1941; awards under this paragraph shall be made only to or for the benefit of the following persons in the order of priority named:

(A)widow or husband if there is no child or children of the deceased;

(B)widow or husband and child or children of the deceased, one-half to the widow or husband and the other half to the child or children of the deceased in equal shares;

(C)child or children of the deceased (in equal shares) if there is no widow or husband; and

(D)parents of the deceased (in equal shares) if there is no widow, husband, or child;

(2)injury or permanent disability sustained by any person, who being then a civilian national of the United States and a passenger on any vessel engaged in commerce on the high seas, was injured or permanently disabled as a result of military action by Germany or Japan which occurred during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 11, 1941; awards under this paragraph shall be payable solely to the person so injured or disabled;

(3)the loss or destruction, as a result of such action, of property on such vessel, as determined by the Commission to be reasonable, useful, necessary, or proper under the circumstances, which property was owned by any civilian national of the United States who was then a passenger on such vessel; and in the case of the death of any person suffering such loss, awards under this paragraph shall be made only to or for the benefit of the persons designated in paragraph (1) of this subsection and in the order of priority named therein.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Apr. 30, 1946, ch. 243, 60 Stat. 128, which was classified to sections 1751 to 1806 of the former Appendix to this title, prior to omission from the Code as terminated. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 2017a of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

§4132 Claims Authorized

Summary

Title 50, §4132

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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