West LA VA Must Move Ahead With Thousands Of Veteran Housing Units, Court Says

LOS ANGELES, CA — The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Friday denied the Department of Veterans Affairs' request to reconsider a ruling requiring the agency to build thousands of supportive housing units for disabled, homeless veterans on its West Los Angeles campus.

The court denied the VA's request for a larger panel of 9th Circuit judges to consider the case, leaving intact a December ruling by a three-judge panel requiring the VA to build 750 units of temporary supportive housing within 18 months and 1,800 units of permanent supportive housing within six years.

The order also states that no further petitions for rehearing will be considered by the appeals court.

The December ruling additionally requires the VA to end the use of income restrictions found to be discriminatory by ensuring veterans' disability payments do not count against their eligibility for supportive housing.

The three-judge panel also affirmed that the VA's leases with Brentwood School and Bridgeland Resources violate the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 and are therefore void. The panel, however, allowed UCLA's lease for a portion of the VA grounds used for its Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The December decision upheld key portions of U.S. District Judge David O. Carter's ruling following a four-week non-jury trial over the VA's obligations to provide housing and care for disabled, unhoused veterans on its 388-acre West Los Angeles campus.

During the trial, the VA argued it was out of space on the campus and that a lack of available acreage precluded an increase beyond the 1,200 housing units the agency had promised to open by 2030. VA attorneys also argued that court-ordered relief would burden the department financially and limit the flexibility needed to address veteran homelessness.

"It's an historic day for all veterans and for the nation," Mark Rosenbaum, senior special counsel for strategic litigation at Public Counsel, which represents the veteran plaintiffs, said in a statement Friday.

"The denial of the government's petition for rehearing will hopefully put an end to the government's war against the men and women who sacrificed for the country and came back from their service only to find that their government had deserted them in their time of need. And the denial of the petition should end the disgrace of veteran homelessness once and for all. It's long past time to heal the visible and invisible wounds of war for the brave soldiers who won this case."

In response to a request for comment, the VA said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Rob Reynolds, an Iraq War veteran and advocate, said he hopes the VA does not seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Twenty-five years later to the day, this ruling is a reminder that the country's obligation to those who served does not end when the war does. The West Los Angeles VA has been mismanaged for decades, and court oversight is necessary to ensure the VA finally follows through on its obligations to our veterans. My hope is that the VA does not appeal this case to the Supreme Court, because any further appeal would only delay the oversight needed to ensure that happens," Reynolds said.

Public Counsel, along with co-counsel Robins Kaplan, Sidley Austin, Brown Goldstein & Levy and Inner City Law Center, represents the veteran plaintiffs.

City News Service