(a) Any Injured Person may bring a claim under the CGFAA by filing a Notice of Loss. A claim submitted on any form other than a Notice of Loss will not be accepted. The Claimant must provide a brief description of each Loss on the Notice of Loss.

(b) A single Notice of Loss may be submitted on behalf of a Household containing Injured Persons provided that all Injured Persons on whose behalf the claim is presented are identified.

(c) The Notice of Loss must be signed by each Claimant, if the Claimant is an individual or by a duly authorized legal representative of each Claimant, if the Claimant is an entity or an individual who lacks the legal capacity to sign the Notice of Loss. If one is signing a Notice of Loss as the legal representative of a Claimant, the signer must disclose his or her relationship to the Claimant. FEMA may require a legal representative to submit evidence of authority.

(d) Notice of Loss forms are available from OCGFC by request. They may be obtained through the mail, in person at the OCGFC office or by telephone request. The Notice of Loss form can also be downloaded from the Internet at http://www.fema.gov/cerrogrande.

(e) Notices of Loss may be filed with OCGFC by mail to P.O. Box 1480, Los Alamos, NM 87544–1480. OCGFC is unable to accept Notices of Loss submitted by facsimile or e-mail.

(f) A Notice of Loss that is completely filled out and properly signed is deemed to be filed on the date it is received by OCGFC.

The deadline for filing a Notice of Loss is August 28, 2002. Except as provided in § 295.21(d) with respect to mitigation and in § 295.31(b) with respect to the lump sum payment described therein, a Loss that has not been described: on a Notice of Loss, on a supplement to a Notice of Loss or a request to supplement a Notice of Loss under § 295.33, or a request to reopen a claim under § 295.34, received by OCGFC on or before August 28, 2002 cannot be compensated under the CGFAA. The CGFAA establishes this deadline and does not provide any extensions of the filing deadline.

(a) By filing a Notice of Loss, an Injured Person waives the right to seek redress for Cerro Grande Fire related claims against the United States through the Federal Tort Claims Act or by filing a civil action authorized by any other provision of law.

(b) An Injured Person who files a Federal Tort Claims Act claim or who initiates a civil action against the United States or any officer, employee or agent of the United States relating to the Cerro Grande Fire on or after August 28, 2000 is not eligible under the CGFAA to file a Notice of Loss.

(c) An Injured Person who filed before August 28, 2000 a Federal Tort Claims Act claim or a civil action against the United States for injuries, losses or damages relating to the Cerro Grande Fire may file a Notice of Loss provided that the Federal Tort Claims Act claim is withdrawn or the Injured Person is dismissed as a party to the civil action with prejudice not later than October 27, 2000. The withdrawal of a Federal Tort Claims Act claim must be in the form of a signed, written statement on a form provided by OCGFC that is filed with OCGFC not later than October 27, 2000. OCGFC will promptly forward the original notice of withdrawal to the applicable federal agency and retain a copy in the Claimant's file.

An insurer or other third party with the rights of a subrogee, who has compensated an Injured Person for Cerro Grande Fire related losses, may file a Subrogation Notice of Loss under the CGFAA for the subrogated claim. An insurer or other third party with the rights of a subrogee may file a Subrogation Notice of Loss without regard to whether the Injured Party who received payment from the insurer or third party filed a Notice of Loss. A Subrogation Notice of Loss may not be filed until the insurer or other party with the rights of a subrogee has made all payments that it believes the Injured Person is entitled to receive for Cerro Grande Fire related losses under the terms of the insurance policy or other agreement between the insurer or other party with the rights of a subrogee and the Injured Person. By filing a Subrogation Notice of Loss for any subrogated claim, the insurer or third party elects the CGFAA as its exclusive remedy against the United States for all subrogated claims arising out of the Cerro Grande Fire. Subrogation claims must be made on a Subrogation Notice of Loss form furnished by OCGFC. FEMA will evaluate subrogation claims on their merits. FEMA may reimburse insurers and other third parties with the rights of a subrogee for reasonable payments made to an Injured Party on or before October 25, 2000, which exceeded or were not required by the terms of the insurance policy or other agreement creating a right of subrogation. FEMA will not reimburse insurers and other third parties with the rights of a subrogee for payments made to an Injured Party after October 25, 2000 that exceeded or are not required by the terms of the insurance policy or other agreement creating a right of subrogation.

Assignment of claims and the right to receive compensation for claims under the CGFAA is prohibited and will not be recognized by FEMA.