From the LA Times: A federal judge [last] Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build more than 2,500 units of housing for low-income veterans on its West Los Angeles campus. In a 124-page decision following a non-jury trial, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also ruled that leases to UCLA, Brentwood School and others on the VA property are illegal because they don’t principally serve veterans. UCLA’s Jackie Robinson baseball stadium is on 10 acres leased from the VA...
The ruling did not specify what should happen to the VA’s leases with UCLA, Brentwood School and others but said the “court will determine an exit strategy” after more hearings...
UCLA’s media office issued a statement saying the university is reviewing the decision to see how it will affect its “public service partnership” of more than 70 years with the VA. “Working with the VA to serve veterans continues to be one of our key objectives as part of UCLA’s mission of teaching, research and public service,” it said...
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From the court's decision:
Each administration since 2011 has been warned—by the VA’s own Office of the Inspector General, federal courts, and veterans—that they were not doing enough to house veterans in Los Angeles. Despite these warnings, the VA has not made good on its promise to build housing for veterans. Instead, it has continued leasing portions of the West Los Angeles campus to a private school, UCLA’s baseball team, an oil company, and other private interests. The cost of the VA’s inaction is veterans’ lives...
Now, the West LA VA promises they finally have a plan that will end veteran homelessness in Los Angeles—but only if the plaintiffs leave them alone and the Court does not issue an injunction. After years of broken promises, corruption, and neglect, it is no surprise that veterans are unwilling to take them at their word. The Court finds Plaintiffs are entitled to injunctive relief in the form of additional housing at the Grounds and termination of the illegal land-use agreements...
The statute’s language is clear and unambiguous: any land use agreement that the VA executes on the West LA VA Grounds must be veteran-focused. That is, leases with UCLA must predominantly focus on veterans, and leases with all other third parties must “principally benefit veterans.” This interpretation of the Leasing Act’s text is consistent with the legislative context in which Congress passed the Leasing Act...
The statute does not define the second element—that the “predominant focus” of the lessee be the provision of services to veterans. When a statute does not define a phrase, courts often look to a dictionary published soon after the statute was passed for the definition. See, e.g., Taniguchi v. Kan Pac. Saipan, Ltd., 566 U.S. 560, 566 (1997); Chacon v. Wilkinson, 988 F.3d 1131, 1133 (9th Cir. 2021). The American Heritage Dictionary defines “predominant” as “main.” Predominant, American Heritage Dictionary, https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.Html ?q=predominant (last visited August 31, 2023). Another dictionary defines the word as “preeminent.” Predominant, Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/predominant (last visited August 31, 2024). Thus, under the Leasing Act, a necessary feature of any lease with UCLA is that UCLA’s main focus of its activities on the West LA VA Grounds is providing services to veterans. Any agreement with UCLA where UCLA’s main focus is not veterans violates the Leasing Act, and consequently the VA’s fiduciary duty to veterans...
The Court holds that the VA’s lease with UCLA violates the agency’s fiduciary duty to veterans, because UCLA’s main or predominant focus under the lease is not the provision of services to veterans...
The value of some of the in-kind services that UCLA provides is questionable. For instance, UCLA provides free tickets for veterans and free refreshments at its baseball games. UCLA claims the full price of these tickets as part of its in-kind consideration. UCLA acknowledged that for most of the games, there are hundreds of empty seats in the stadium. Trial Tr. Aug. 22, 2024, 19:7-17. As a result, many other complimentary tickets are distributed besides those given to veterans.
Even assuming the in-kind services were correctly valued, the fact remains that the leased land is predominantly, and almost exclusively, used for UCLA’s baseball program. UCLA has approximately 26 home games at the stadium per year, in addition to NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals, and some special events. Id. at 21:18-22. UCLA’s focus during those times is hosting baseball games, not serving veterans. Id. at 69:17-21. UCLA’s lease with the VA for its student athletic facilities therefore violates the Leasing Act, and by extension, the VA’s fiduciary duty to veterans. Accordingly, the UCLA lease is void. To ensure the land is put to a use that principally benefits veterans, the Court will determine an exit strategy for UCLA’s 10 acres following the hearing on injunctive relief...
The Court further holds that Plaintiffs are entitled to prospective relief. Specifically, the VA is enjoined from entering into new leases with the Brentwood School, Safety Park, Bridgeland Resources, and UCLA... The Court will decide the specifics of the injunction, including how to best manage the lessees’ exits from the West LA VA Grounds, following a hearing on injunctive relief scheduled for September 25, 2024...
Full decision at https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Dkt.%20302%20Post-Trial%20Opinion%3B%20Findings%20of%20Fact%20and%20Conclusions%20of%20Law.pdf.
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