A judge is issuing a dire warning to federal Veterans Affairs officials, threatening to sue them for failing to add temporary housing for homeless veterans to the West LA VA campus.

At issue is an order issued by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Oct. 18 directing Veterans Affairs officials to select a company to add tiny homes for veterans who need shelter before winter. Yet, VA officials asked him to stop his ordersaying they would take money from other services.

In a new decision published late ThursdayCarter wrote that “to ensure prompt compliance,” he was ordering VA officials to tell him by 8 a.m. Wednesday why they “should not be held in contempt for failure to fulfill procurement contracts.”

In doing so, he denied the VA’s request to discontinue the housing order until their call upon it — filed Oct. 28 — is decided by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The need for temporary housing for disabled and homeless veterans before winter conditions arrive is an emergency,” Carter wrote.

If people are found in contempt for disobeying a lawful order of a federal court, consequences may include FINES or prison.

LA County is home to the largest population of homeless veterans in the country. Countywide, about 3,000 veterans were counted in January, down from about 3,900 a year earlier.

The background story

Citing what he described as an emergency of homeless veterans in early October, Carter ordered the VA to add more housing much faster on campus — directing officials to add dozens of pre-built tiny houses before winter and hundreds by spring. He provided a specific timeline for the VA to select and hire a company to supply the tiny homes.

The judge then continued with his order of October 18which directed the VA to work quickly to set up a competitive bidding process for the housing contract and try to sign a contract by next Tuesday.

VA officials they rejected the orderarguing at a hearing Thursday that adding the first 100 tiny homes would cost $30 million and take those funds away from crucial services. Carter rejected thatsaying the VA’s cost estimate is too high and asking VA officials why they aren’t “working with the Court to get these hundreds of people off the street.”

VA response to Carter’s latest order

Asked for comment on Thursday’s decision, VA officials noted the agency’s continued efforts to house veterans and said Carter was acting illegally.

“The court overstepped its legal authority, and its orders would prevent the VA from fulfilling its mission to end veteran homelessness by diverting critical resources from proven efforts to get veterans off the streets and save lives— including VA health care, ongoing housing support, legal assistance, job training and more,” Damian McGee, VA Greater LA Region spokesman, said in a statement.

“This would negatively impact veterans and their families, both in LA and across America, and the VA is beginning the appeals process to prevent that from happening,” he added of Carter’s orders.

More details about the case

The lawsuit was filed in November 2022 on behalf of homeless disabled veterans. He came after VA is several years late following an earlier deal in 2015 to build more housing on campus.

After a weeks-long trial in August, Carter ruled in favor of the homeless veteran plaintiffs.