Rashid El Malik v. Department of Veteran Affairs
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I. Background
A. Factual Background The following factual allegations are taken from Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (“FAC”). Plaintiff is a veteran with multiple disabilities. See First Amended Complaint, Dkt. # 24 (“FAC”), 47. In 2012, a VA doctor issued Plaintiff a motorized wheelchair. See id. § 9. In 2014, Plaintiff applied for veterans benefits through the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (“VR&E”) service of the VA to adapt his home to accommodate his disabilities. See id. In 2019, Plaintiff discovered a September 2018 memorandum that summarized a telephone call that VA employee Laura Georgi had with VA employee Woodrow Anthony Roeback. See id. §] 10, Ex. A. The memorandum allegedly contained false statements besmirching Plaintiff's moral character, and was used by the VA to deny his claims for veterans benefits. See id. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that due to the inaccurate information, Georgi denied Plaintiff's request for benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151. See id. 99] 2, 10-11, 24-27, 30. Also due to this false information, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (“BVA”) denied Plaintiff's