The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has rejected with stunning speed a motion from the Department of Veterans Affairs that it be allowed to stop taking steps toward reimbursing hundreds of thousands of veterans for the non-VA emergency care costs they have paid until higher courts rule on VA's appeal. [more]
Released 2/24/17 | Tags: Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has rejected with stunning speed a motion from the Department of Veterans Affairs that it be allowed to stop taking steps toward reimbursing hundreds of thousands of veterans, for the non-VA emergency care costs they have paid, until higher courts rule on VA’s appeal. [more]
Released 2/23/17 | Tags: Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Many military veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, but if they are discharged with anything less than an honorable discharge they cannot get the mental-health treatment they need. The Department of Veterans Affairs said that 20 percent of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq could have PTSD. [more]
Released 2/22/17 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia certified a class of all individuals and entities who paid fees to obtain court records though the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. The proposed class representatives, three nonprofit legal advocacy organizations, overcame the government’s primary challenge to class certification, which was that they were not adequate class representatives. The National Veterans Legal Services Program, the National Consumer Law Center and the Alliance for Justice, all nonprofit entities that paid fees to obtain court records from PACER, filed suit to recover the allegedly excessive fees charged by the government for PACER access. [more]
Released 2/16/17 | Tags: Class Actions
There are approximately 4.5 million veterans in the United States. These men and women, our family, friends, and neighbors, risked their lives to keep us safe at home. Many of them suffer, physically and emotionally, long after they have left the fighting behind. Thankfully, there are organizations available to help veterans, active duty military and their families overcome the hardships they may face. [more]
Released 2/8/17 | Tags: Veteran's Benefits
Legislation supported by the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) to ensure that veterans who suffer service-ending combat-related injuries are not taxed on the severance payment they receive from the Department of Defense (DoD) was signed into law by then-President Obama on December 16, 2016. [more]
Released 2/3/17 | Tags: Congressional Legislation
A lawsuit that claims the public is being overcharged by a federally run online court document access system known as PACER moves forward. The federal judge overseeing the case has classified the suit as a class action. This would mean that anybody who used the service from 2010 to 2016 might be entitled to refund should the defendant, as in this case the U.S. government, lose or settle, according to Ars Technica reports. [more]
Released 1/27/17 | Tags: Class Actions
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has certified a class action lawsuit that alleges federal courts are overcharging for online access to court records through Pacer. [more]
Released 1/26/17 | Tags: Class Actions
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has certified a class action lawsuit that alleges federal courts are overcharging for online access to court records through PACER. [more]
Released 1/26/17 | Tags: Class Actions
A lawsuit that claims the public is being overcharged by the US government's website for accessing federal court records just took a major step forward. A federal judge overseeing the litigation against PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, just certified the case as a class action—meaning anybody who has used the service between 2010-2016 might be entitled to refunds if the government loses or settles. [more]
Released 1/25/17 | Tags: