The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) today announced the release of the 2019-2020 edition of its Veterans Benefits Manual. [more]
Released 1/10/20 | Tags:
On January 02, 2020, the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) filed a complaint in U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the Secretaries of the military departments for unlawfully removing from public view all of the past decisions made by defendants’ Discharge Review Boards (DRBs) and Boards for Correction of Military Records (BCMRs) (collectively, the Boards). The other defendants include the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and the Secretary of Defense. [more]
Released 1/3/20 | Tags:
Delays of More Than 18 months Said to Exceed Deadline Set By Congress
On Dec. 16, 2019, The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), together with Mr. Walter Calhoun and Mr. John Doe, filed a class action complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accusing the U.S. Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force of consistently failing to meet their statutory timeliness requirements to decide claims filed by veterans and servicemembers for correction of their individual military records as mandated by Congress in 10 U.S.C. § 1557. [more]
Released 12/18/19 | Tags:
Non-VA Facilities -- Class Action Order Requires VA to Make Billions of Dollars in Reimbursement Payments to Hundreds of Thousands of Veterans --
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) ruled in a case styled Wolfe v. Wilkie, that VA’s 2018 reimbursement regulation violates the Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2010 (ECFA) that requires VA to reimburse veterans for the emergency medical expenses they incur at non-VA facilities that are not covered by the veteran’s private insurance. [more]
Released 9/10/19 | Tags: Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
WASHINGTON -The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s signing of H.R.299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, into law. [more]
Released 6/27/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Class Actions, Congressional Legislation, Veteran's Benefits
On June 13, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) certified its first class action. The case, styled Godsey v. Wilkie, was a petition for extraordinary relief brought by Covington & Burling LLP and the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP). The petition was filed on behalf of veterans James A. Godsey, Jr., Jeffery S. Henke, Thomas J. Marshall, Pamela Whitfield. It sought relief for all similarly situated VA benefits claimants who have filed an appeal to VA’s highest tribunal, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board), and since have suffered extended delays waiting for VA to begin moving their appeals forward in a process called “certification.” [more]
Released 6/14/19 | Tags: Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
Finally Extending the Presumption of Agent Orange Exposure to Veterans Who Served in the Territorial Waters of Vietnam
The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) today hailed the decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to not appeal the Procopio v. Wilkie decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which extends the VA’s presumption of Agent Orange exposure to all veterans who served in the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam. [more]
Released 6/5/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
In response to the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) class action lawsuit, Wolfe and Boerschinger v. Wilkie, the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) admitted that it misled tens of thousands of veterans who had applied for reimbursement of the emergency –care expenses they incurred at non-VA facilities. [more]
Released 4/1/19 | Tags: Class Actions, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Veteran's Benefits
-Decision Requires VA to Presume All Who Served in Territorial Waters Offshore Vietnam Had Agent Orange Exposure -
As the country commemorates Vietnam War Veterans and the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) applauded the announcement by Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Robert Wilkie to recommend not to appeal the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Procopio v. Wilkie. That decision extends the presumption of Agent Orange exposure to all veterans who served in the territorial waters offshore the Republic of Vietnam. This announcement was made on March 26 in a hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Secretary Wilkie cautioned that other federal officials may not accept his recommendation, but his determination not to appeal will surely have an impact. [more]
Released 3/29/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits
On March 19, 2019, The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), together with Phillip Boyd Haisley, a “Blue Water Navy Veteran,” who served in the territorial waters of the Republic of Vietnam, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit challenging the legality of a rule recently issued by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie that significantly limits when past VA benefit denials can be overturned due to “clear and unmistakable error.” [more]
Released 3/25/19 | Tags: Agent Orange, Veteran's Benefits