LOS ANGELES — A historic trial is underway at the Federal Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles against the Veteran Affairs Department and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, who are accused of not doing enough to provide housing for homeless veterans on the sprawling VA campus in Westwood.
The nearly 400-acre land was given in a deed to the VA in a charitable trust to be used for housing and health care for soldiers.
Fourteen veterans claim the department is breaching that trust by not building enough housing on its property and leasing large swaths of the land to private interests, including a UCLA baseball field, a Brentwood school’s athletic facility, and oil drilling.
The VA says it’s making progress in ending veteran homelessness in Los Angeles.
Attorneys representing the VA and HUD say, “This lawsuit has the potential to drive a wedge between the VA and the veteran population that it serves.”