Powers v. McDonough, No. 24-6338 (9th Cir. 2025) :: Justia

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Federal Appeals Court Delivers Major Victory for Homeless Veterans in Historic West LA VA Campus Battle

Ninth Circuit Upholds Massive Housing Mandate While Reversing Key Trust Claims in Decade-Long Legal Fight

Los Angeles — In a sweeping 64-page decision issued December 23, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has largely upheld a federal district court's landmark ruling requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to construct thousands of housing units for disabled homeless veterans on its sprawling West Los Angeles campus—land donated in 1888 specifically to house disabled soldiers.

The unanimous three-judge panel, writing through Circuit Judge Ana de Alba, opened with a damning assessment: "This class action lawsuit, and its numerous appeals, demonstrates just how far the VA has strayed from its mission. There are now scores of unhoused veterans trying to survive in and around the greater Los Angeles area despite the acres of land deeded to the VA for their care."

The Core Victory: Housing and Disability Rights

The appeals court affirmed the most consequential aspects of U.S. District Judge David O. Carter's September 2024 ruling, requiring the VA to:

• Build 750 temporary supportive housing units within 18 months to address the immediate crisis
• Construct 1,800 permanent supportive housing units within six years beyond the 1,200 already planned
• Eliminate discriminatory income restrictions that count veterans' disability benefits as income, effectively barring the most disabled veterans from housing

"These veterans have served the country, now it's time for the country to serve the veterans," said Mark Rosenbaum, lead counsel for the plaintiffs from Public Counsel, at a virtual news conference following the decision. "This has been going on for far too many years."

The Legal Framework: Rehabilitation Act Claims Upheld

The appellate panel decisively rejected the VA's jurisdictional challenge, ruling that federal courts have authority to hear veterans' disability discrimination claims under the Rehabilitation Act. The VA had argued that the Veterans Judicial Review Act stripped courts of jurisdiction, but Judge de Alba's opinion distinguished between challenging individual benefits determinations—which courts cannot review—and challenging systemic discrimination in accessing already-awarded benefits.

The court found three separate violations of the Rehabilitation Act:

1. Meaningful Access: Without housing on or near the 388-acre campus, homeless veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) cannot access the specialized healthcare services available only at the West LA Medical Center. Trial testimony revealed veterans commuting up to three hours from places like Lancaster—65 miles away—to receive treatment.

2. Olmstead Integration Mandate: The VA's failure to provide housing places veterans at "serious risk of institutionalization," cycling them through jails, hospitals, and emergency rooms rather than providing community-based care. Expert testimony showed this "institutional circuit" contradicts the Rehabilitation Act's requirement to provide services "in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs."

3. Facial Discrimination: The VA's policy of allowing housing developers to count disability compensation as income creates a perverse system where veterans with 100% disability ratings—receiving approximately $40,000 annually—exceed the 30% Area Median Income threshold of $25,000, disqualifying them from most available housing. "The more disabled a veteran is, the more disability benefits he or she receives," the court noted, making this discrimination "directly correlated to a veteran's disabilities."

The Setback: Charitable Trust Claims Reversed

In the only major reversal, the appeals court found that neither the 1888 deed nor the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 created judicially enforceable fiduciary duties against the VA. While the court acknowledged veterans have "special interest standing" to sue based on the charitable trust created by the original land donation, it ruled that Congress has not "unambiguously and expressly accepted judicially enforceable trust responsibilities."

This reversal had immediate practical consequences: UCLA's baseball stadium lease was reinstated, as Judge Carter had voided it solely on charitable trust grounds. However, the appeals court emphasized this doesn't affect UCLA's relationship with veterans or the VA's other obligations.

Commercial Leases: Mixed Results

The court's treatment of commercial entities using VA land revealed sharp distinctions:

Brentwood School (Voided): The elite private school's lease of 22 acres for athletic facilities—including an Olympic-sized pool, football field, track stadium, and multiple sports fields—was found unlawful under the Administrative Procedures Act. Despite charging $45,000-$53,000 annual tuition and possessing a $30 million endowment, Brentwood allowed veterans pool access only from 5:30-7:30 a.m. on select days. "Veterans' access to Brentwood's athletic facilities is de minimis compared to the access Brentwood students enjoy," the court found.

Bridgeland Resources (Voided): The oil company's license to slant-drill beneath the campus was similarly invalidated. While Bridgeland donated 2.5% of royalties (roughly $75,000-$125,000) to veteran transportation, it retained over $6 million annually. "The transportation services veterans receive are ancillary to drilling oil and gas," the court ruled.

UCLA Baseball (Reinstated): The 10-acre lease for Jackie Robinson Stadium survives, though on different legal grounds than originally challenged. The VA Inspector General had previously found this lease compliant with the Leasing Act.

The court vacated Judge Carter's prohibition on renegotiating terminated leases, ruling he exceeded his authority. The VA may now attempt to bring Brentwood and Bridgeland leases into compliance with federal law, but they remain void unless renegotiated lawfully.

The Human Cost: Veterans Row and Beyond

The case emerged from a crisis that reached national attention in 2020-2021, when homeless veterans established "Veterans Row"—a tent encampment outside the VA's gates decorated with American flags. At its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, the VA refused to provide residents with food, shelter, masks, or sanitation facilities.

Law enforcement cleared the encampment in November 2021 after VA Secretary Denis McDonough pledged to house all residents. Many moved into "Tiny Sheds"—8-by-10-foot structures with no bathrooms or kitchens—where some have lived for years despite the VA's stated intent to transition residents within 60-90 days.

The named plaintiffs' testimony painted a devastating picture. Plaintiff Laurieann Wright, who suffers from PTSD related to military sexual assault, lives in Lancaster and must commute three hours to access campus healthcare. "In addition to her PTSD, Ms. Wright has extensive physical disabilities and medical conditions including osteoporosis, a neck injury she sustained after being thrown down the stairs while living on the sidewalk outside the VA," Judge Carter's original opinion noted.

Plaintiff Lavon Johnson testified that since moving onto campus, he receives regular visits from healthcare workers "who could not find him when he was unhoused."

Historical Context: Decades of Broken Promises

The 388-acre campus traces to an 1888 deed from Senator John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker, who donated 300 acres (later expanded to 600 acres, with about half sold off before Congress prohibited the practice in 2007). The deed specified the land must be used to "locate, establish, construct, and permanently maintain a branch of [the] National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers."

In the 1930s, approximately 5,000 veterans lived on campus, receiving housing, education, and vocational services. But beginning in the 1970s, the VA transitioned to a condensed healthcare model, ceasing to accept new residents and leasing land to commercial interests. As the VA's own 2022 Master Plan acknowledged, this "leasing policy provided little direct benefit to Veterans."

The current lawsuit follows the 2011 Valentini v. Shinseki case, which challenged similar issues. That case resulted in a 2015 settlement—not judicially enforceable—pledging the VA would build 1,200 permanent housing units by 2022. As of the 2024 trial, only 233 units existed, all occupied.

"The VA Office of Inspector General reported to Congress that 'the VA has not constructed a single new unit of [permanent supportive housing] pursuant to the [Valentini] settlement,' and 'fail[ed] even to make essential infrastructure upgrades for utilities like water, sewer, and stormwater systems,'" the appeals court noted.

Financial and Practical Realities

The VA argued that complying with Judge Carter's housing order would "fundamentally alter" its programs and exceed its budget. The appeals court rejected this defense comprehensively.

Constructing 750 temporary units carries an estimated $100 million cost—representing just 0.02% of the VA's $407 billion annual budget for 2024. The court noted the VA "failed to request any funding from Congress to construct supportive housing for veterans notwithstanding its pledge" and "ended Fiscal Year 2024 with unspent, carryover funds."

Moreover, Judge Carter structured relief to allow the VA to "sequence" construction over years and found that "reduction in costs homelessness caused may 'entirely offset' the construction costs."

Current Status and Next Steps

The Ninth Circuit's decision lifts a stay that had been in place since November 2024, potentially allowing construction to proceed. However, significant uncertainty remains about implementation timelines and whether further appeals might delay action.

The VA did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the December 23 decision.

Approximately 3,000 homeless veterans currently live in the greater Los Angeles area—representing roughly 10% of the nation's homeless veteran population. As the court noted, quoting Judge Carter: "We are the homeless veterans capital of the world right now."

The decision also has implications beyond Los Angeles. The ruling that disability benefits cannot be counted as income for housing eligibility applies nationwide and could affect Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) policies across the country. During trial, HUD announced a policy change excluding service-connected disability benefits from income calculations, though the statutory definition remained unchanged.

The Path Forward

Lead plaintiff attorney Mark C. Priebe of Sidley Austin emphasized the decision's broader significance: "This ruling recognizes that disabled veterans cannot be discriminated against in accessing the healthcare and housing they've earned through their service."

The case now returns to Judge Carter's district court for implementation. Carter, himself a Vietnam veteran who has presided over multiple homelessness cases in Los Angeles, appointed a Special Monitor to oversee compliance with his original orders.

While the charitable trust reversal removes one legal basis for the VA's obligations, the Rehabilitation Act violations remain fully intact, along with the Administrative Procedures Act violations regarding commercial leases.

Veterans advocacy groups hailed the decision. "The Ninth Circuit has affirmed what we've known all along," said a spokesperson for the National Veterans Foundation, one of the original plaintiffs. "The VA has a legal obligation to ensure disabled veterans can access the benefits they've earned, and that means providing housing on land specifically donated for that purpose."

For veterans like Rob Reynolds, a 35-year-old Iraq War veteran and plaintiff advocate who helped organize Veterans Row, the decision represents vindication after years of struggle. "Today marks another step on the long road of getting that land back to its intended purpose," Reynolds said, echoing comments he made after Judge Carter's original ruling. "As a soldiers' home for disabled veterans."

The full impact of the decision may take years to materialize, but for now, the law is clear: the VA must build housing, eliminate discriminatory income restrictions, and finally fulfill the promise made more than a century ago to care for those who served.

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Sources and Citations

Court Documents

1. Powers v. McDonough, No. 24-6338 (9th Cir. Dec. 23, 2025). Available at: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/12/23/24-6338.pdf

2. Valentini v. Shinseki, 860 F. Supp. 2d 1079 (C.D. Cal. 2012). Available at: https://clearinghouse.net/case/13676/

3. West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-226, 130 Stat. 926 (2016).

4. West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-18 (2021).

News Reports

5. Task & Purpose. "VA housing for homeless veterans in Los Angeles halted." December 1, 2024. https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/homeless-veterans-los-angeles-court-halted/

6. Task & Purpose. "Homeless veterans sued the VA for new homes in L.A. They won." September 7, 2024. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/va-judge-carter-los-angeles-veterans-homeless/

7. Press Telegram. "Court upholds order to build thousands of housing units for disabled veterans at VA in West LA." December 24, 2025. https://www.presstelegram.com/2025/12/24/court-upholds-order-to-build-thousands-of-housing-units-for-disabled-veterans-at-va-in-west-la/

8. Stars and Stripes. "VA ordered to provide hundreds of additional shelter beds, build nearly 2,000 housing units for homeless veterans in LA." September 9, 2024. https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2024-09-09/los-angeles-disabled-homeless-veterans-lawsuit-15121355.html

9. Stars and Stripes. "VA fights court order to develop hundreds of shelter beds, apartment units for LA homeless vets." November 25, 2024. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-11-25/veterans-homeless-housing-lawsuit-los-angeles%C2%A0-15966598.html

10. CNN. "VA ordered to build thousands more homes for veterans on West Los Angeles campus." September 6, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/06/us/va-housing-west-los-angeles/index.html

11. ABC7 Los Angeles. "Federal judge blast Veterans Affairs, orders more housing for veterans on West L.A. campus." September 7, 2024. https://abc7.com/post/federal-judge-blast-veterans-affairs-orders-more-housing-west-la-campus/15274913/

12. Military.com. "VA Must Start Building 750 Temporary Units for Homeless Vets on Los Angeles Land, Judge Says." October 22, 2024. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/10/21/judge-orders-va-start-building-hundreds-of-units-homeless-vets-los-angeles-medical-center.html

13. Courthouse News Service. "Judge orders Veteran Affairs to build supportive housing on West LA campus." October 11, 2024. https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-orders-veteran-affairs-to-build-supportive-housing-on-west-la-campus/

Veterans Row Historical Sources

14. Wikipedia. "Veterans Row." Last updated June 24, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Row

15. California American Legion. "Los Angeles Clears 'Veterans Row' Encampment, Veterans Moved to Temporary Housing on VA Campus." November 2021. https://calegion.org/los-angeles-clears-veterans-row-encampment-veterans-moved-to-temporary-housing-on-va-campus/

16. U.S. VETS. "U.S.VETS Works to Place Homeless Veterans along 'Veterans Row' in Supportive Housing." January 23, 2024. https://usvets.org/u-s-vets-works-to-place-homeless-veterans-along-veterans-row-in-supportive-housing/

17. Stars and Stripes. "VA secretary vows to eliminate LA's 'veterans row.'" October 20, 2021. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2021-10-20/veterans-affairs-homeless-los-angeles-mcdonough-3314342.html

18. Washington Examiner (via mbsafe.org). "'Veterans Row' homeless settle into new VA tent city digs, but problems persist." November 18, 2021. https://www.mbsafe.org/post/veterans-row-homeless-settle-into-new-va-tent-city-digs-but-problems-persist

19. Daily News. "Homeless moving from 'Veterans Row' encampment to shelter at VA's West LA complex." December 3, 2021. https://www.dailynews.com/2021/11/01/homeless-moving-from-veterans-row-encampment-to-shelter-at-vas-west-la-complex/

Valentini Case Background

20. ACLU of Southern California. "Valentini v. Shinseki." December 18, 2016. https://www.aclusocal.org/en/cases/valentini-v-shinseki

21. Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. "Valentini v. Shinseki 2:11-cv-04846 (C.D. Cal.)." Last updated February 5, 2025. https://clearinghouse.net/case/13676/

22. Vets Advocacy. "Report Card." June 12, 2017. https://www.vatherightway.org/report-card/

23. Vets Advocacy. "About Us." July 21, 2023. https://www.vatherightway.org/vets-advocacy/

24. LA Progressive. "Valentini v Shinseki." February 10, 2022. https://www.laprogressive.com/war-and-peace/valentini-v-shinseki

25. Daily Journal. "Veterans win back the West LA VA Campus." October 22, 2025. https://www.dailyjournal.com/article/381503-veterans-win-back-the-west-la-va-campus

Additional Context

26. Task & Purpose. "Trump orders West Los Angeles VA campus to house thousands of veterans." May 10, 2025. https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/trump-west-la-va-national-center/