The U.S. 9th Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court order requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build more than 2,500 units of housing on its West Los Angeles campus and invalidating a prestigious private school’s lease there.
In a complex decision issued Tuesday, a three-judge panel affirmed most of U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s orders, finding in favor of veterans’ claims of discrimination by not having access to housing on the 388-acre campus. It overruled the judge’s order invalidating UCLA’s lease of a portion of the VA grounds for its baseball stadium.
Citing President Lincoln’s “promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors,” Circuit Judge Ana de Alba opened the panel’s opinion with a rebuke of the VA’s posture in the case.