Jeffrey Powers v. Denis Richard McDonough
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I. BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background
This is not the first time that UCLA’s lease has been voided. In the 2013 case, Valentini v. Shinseki, Judge Otero ruled that the 2001 agreement allowing UCLA to have priority use of the stadium for their baseball team on 7.35 acres on the West LA VA
CIVIL MINUTES – GENERAL
Case No. 2:22-CV-08357-DOC-KS Date: October 23, 2024
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Campus for ten-years was “unauthorized by law and therefore void.” See Judgment, Gregory Valentini, et al., v. Eric Shinseki, et al., Case No. 11-CV-04846-SJO (CDCA August 29, 2013) (Dkt. 142) at 2. Congress then passed the West Los Angeles Leasing Act (“WLALA” or “Leasing Act”) which was amended in 2021. See Post-Trial Opinion: Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (“Post-Trial Opinion”) (Dkt. 302) at 9. This Act authorizes certain leases with the Regents of the University of California on behalf of UCLA1 so long as “the provision of services to veterans is the predominant focus” of UCLA’s activities on the Grounds. Id. at 48.
UCLA’s current expanded lease with VA began in 2016 and expires in 2026. Id. at 65. This lease covers approximately ten acres including both the baseball stadium…