2006 Code of Virginia § 8.01-195.3 - Commonwealth, transportation district or locality liable for damages in certain cases

8.01-195.3. Commonwealth, transportation district or locality liable fordamages in certain cases.

Subject to the provisions of this article, the Commonwealth shall be liablefor claims for money only accruing on or after July 1, 1982, and anytransportation district shall be liable for claims for money only accruing onor after July 1, 1986, on account of damage to or loss of property orpersonal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omissionof any employee while acting within the scope of his employment undercircumstances where the Commonwealth or transportation district, if a privateperson, would be liable to the claimant for such damage, loss, injury ordeath. However, except to the extent that a transportation district contractsto do so pursuant to 15.2-4518, neither the Commonwealth nor anytransportation district shall be liable for interest prior to judgment or forpunitive damages. The amount recoverable by any claimant shall not exceed (i)$25,000 for causes of action accruing prior to July 1, 1988, $75,000 forcauses of action accruing on or after July 1, 1988, or $100,000 for causes ofaction accruing on or after July 1, 1993, or (ii) the maximum limits of anyliability policy maintained to insure against such negligence or other tort,if such policy is in force at the time of the act or omission complained of,whichever is greater, exclusive of interest and costs.

Notwithstanding any provision hereof, the individual immunity of judges, theAttorney General, attorneys for the Commonwealth, and other public officers,their agents and employees from tort claims for damages is hereby preservedto the extent and degree that such persons presently are immunized. Anyrecovery based on the following claims are hereby excluded from theprovisions of this article:

1. Any claim against the Commonwealth based upon an act or omission whichoccurred prior to July 1, 1982.

1a. Any claim against a transportation district based upon an act or omissionwhich occurred prior to July 1, 1986.

2. Any claim based upon an act or omission of the General Assembly ordistrict commission of any transportation district, or any member or staffthereof acting in his official capacity, or to the legislative function ofany agency subject to the provisions of this article.

3. Any claim based upon an act or omission of any court of the Commonwealth,or any member thereof acting in his official capacity, or to the judicialfunctions of any agency subject to the provisions of this article.

4. Any claim based upon an act or omission of an officer, agent or employeeof any agency of government in the execution of a lawful order of any court.

5. Any claim arising in connection with the assessment or collection of taxes.

6. Any claim arising out of the institution or prosecution of any judicial oradministrative proceeding, even if without probable cause.

7. Any claim by an inmate of a state correctional facility, as defined in 53.1-1, unless the claimant verifies under oath, by affidavit, that he hasexhausted his remedies under the adult institutional inmate grievanceprocedures promulgated by the Department of Corrections. The time for filingthe notice of tort claim shall be tolled during the pendency of the grievanceprocedure.

8. Any claim arising from the failure of a computer, software program,database, network, information system, firmware or any other device, whetheroperated by or on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia or one of itsagencies, to interpret, produce, calculate, generate, or account for a datewhich is compatible with the "Year 2000" date change.

Nothing contained herein shall operate to reduce or limit the extent to whichthe Commonwealth or any transportation district, agency or employee wasdeemed liable for negligence as of July 1, 1982, nor shall any provision ofthis article be applicable to any county, city or town in the Commonwealth orbe so construed as to remove or in any way diminish the sovereign immunity ofany county, city or town in the Commonwealth.

(1981, c. 449; 1982, c. 397; 1986, c. 584; 1988, c. 884; 1989, c. 446; 1993,c. 481; 1998, cc. 203, 820.)