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A lawsuit alleging that the federal court system substantially overcharges for online access to dockets and documents was certified as a class action Tuesday by a federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle said in an opinion she will allow anyone who paid so-called PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) fees between April 2010 and April 2016 to be part of the class in the suit, which alleges that the government is violating a 2002 law that says fees for using the system should not exceed the costs to operate it. [more]
Released 1/24/17 | Tags: Class Actions
A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday certified a class of potentially hundreds of thousands of PACER users in three nonprofit groups' suit alleging the government is illegally making a profit on the court records service, ruling nonprofits can adequately represent all PACER users.In a 19-page memorandum opinion, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle granted the motion for class certification filed by plaintiffs the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the National Consumer Law Center and Alliance for Justice in their suit alleging PACER's fees violated the E-Government Act and seeking a refund of any overcharges. [more]
Released 1/24/17 | Tags: Class Actions, Veteran's Benefits
A Capitol Hill conference room erupted in cheers March 7 when Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin announced that he would start providing mental health services to "bad paper" veterans – men and women who, typically for minor disciplinary problems and often as a result of mental health issues that started in service, have been denied access to most VA care.
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Released 1/15/17 | Tags: Discharge Upgrades
Veterans will no longer be unlawfully taxed thanks to new legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama in mid-December. Under the Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016 , the Defense Department will restore tax dollars improperly withheld from severance payments to veterans with combat-related injuries or for other purposes. [more]
Released 1/13/17 | Tags: Congressional Legislation
Thousands of veterans injured in combat could soon be able to recoup taxes erroneously collected from their disability severance pay due to a new law signed by President Barack Obama. About 13,800 veterans separated from the military due to their injuries might have been affected, the nonprofit group National Veterans Legal Service Program estimates. Due to an accounting error, as much as $78 million in taxes deducted over decades from the lump sum payments. [more]
Released 12/20/16 | Tags: Congressional Legislation
Thousands of veterans injured in combat could soon be able to recoup taxes erroneously collected from their disability severance pay due to a new law signed by President Barack Obama. About 13,800 veterans separated from the military due to their injuries might have been affected, the nonprofit group National Veterans Legal Service Program estimates. Due to an accounting error, as much as $78 million in taxes deducted over decades from the lump sum payments. Federal law considers the severance payments tax exempt. But the nonprofit group said the Defense Finance and Accounting Service system was automatically making deductions since 1991, meaning troops injured in conflicts spanning from the Gulf War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan might have been taxed thousands of dollars improperly. [more]
Released 12/19/16 | Tags: Congressional Legislation
For some veterans who were shortchanged millions by the government, it took an act of Congress to finally get the money they were owed. “It literally takes an act of Congress to try to right this historic wrong that was done to them,” said Thomas Moore, a lawyer with the nonprofit National Veterans Legal Services Program. For several decades, the government knowingly and wrongfully taxed the severance packages of these veterans who suffered service-ending combat disabilities, Moore said. “We have estimated that it’s about 14,000 veterans, and the total amount taken from these veterans we’ve estimated as about $78 million,” Moore said. [more]
Released 12/18/16 | Tags: Congressional Legislation
A Washington, D.C., federal judge has refused to kill a proposed class action by nonprofit groups that claim PACER is too expensive, concluding Monday the users don’t have to exhaust the service’s administrative appeals because the complaint isn’t about a billing error. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle rejected the government’s bid to toss the suit brought by the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the National Consumer Law Center and Alliance for Justice over PACER’s fees, saying the suit addresses different issues than the ones outlined by the service’s user agreement, according to Monday’s decision. [more]
Released 12/16/16 | Tags:
Thousands of combat-wounded veterans are in line for big payouts from the Defense Department after lawmakers passed a fix to severance package problems before leaving town last weekend. And many may not know they’re owed any money. The Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016, expected to be signed into law by the president in the coming days, mandates the department stop improperly taxing severance payouts for troops wounded in war zones, and requires Pentagon officials to identify any veterans whose benefits were improperly taxed. [more]
Released 12/15/16 | Tags:
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation early Saturday 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). The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation earlier in the week. Now the bill is headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law. [more]
Released 12/14/16 | Tags: Congressional Legislation