Hall v. District of Columbia

This case concerns a claim against the District of Columbia for the difference between contract rates and 'board rates' for public works performed in the 1870s. Following the passage of the Act of February 13, 1895, which allowed for new trials for claimants who had not received board rates, the claimant sought a retrial. The Court of Claims held that the 1895 Act was intended to provide an equitable remedy to place claimants on equal footing with those who had received board rates, but it did not authorize a full retrial of all issues. Furthermore, the court determined that judgments under the 1895 Act should follow the same form as those under the 1880 Act, including the allowance of interest from the time the claim was due and payable.

The case involves a claim against a government entity for the difference between contract rates and board rates on public works performed decades earlier. Following special legislation allowing new trials for claimants who had not received board rates, the court ruled that the act provided an equitable remedy to equalize treatment but did not permit a full retrial of all issues, and judgments must follow the form of prior acts including interest from when the claim was due. Judgment was awarded to the claimant for the specified amount plus interest from the due date.