In a move that has alarmed veterans, Brentwood School is asking an appeals court to toss out a judge’s order voiding its lease for the land where it maintains extensive athletic facilities.
Attorneys for the elite private school filed a brief with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that District Court Judge David O. Carter misinterpreted the law in his final judgment voiding the remainder of a 10-year lease for over 22 acres of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ West Los Angeles campus.
A spokesman for veterans who are suing the VA over use of the land said they feel blindsided after negotiating a settlement with the school that would allow it to remain on the land while expanding veterans’ access to the athletic facilities and providing additional rent and services.
“They are absolutely furious,” said Rob Reynolds, an Iraq war veteran who testified in the trial on the struggles of veterans seeking housing and advocates for them.
In a statement, the school downplayed the wording of the brief and reaffirmed its commitment to the agreement.
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