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VA Settles Houston Cemetery Lawsuit With Multiple Concessions

The Houston Chronicle is reporting an end to the lawsuit over the alleged religious censorship at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Houston National Cemetery. According to papers recently filed in the lawsuit, the VA is settling their case before it goes to trial.

The parties agreed upon the settlement in mediation. The details of that settlement, however, are going to remain under wraps. Neither party will speak to the details of the agreement until it gets a judge's signature.

According to the filed document, however, the VA is going to pay more than $200,000 in attorney's fees. That payment, however, in no way implies guilt, fault, or liability. Further, some of the things agreed upon in the document are standard operating procedure at the VA, i.e., they were already VA protocol.

As part of the settlement, the VA has made several concessions, such as agreeing to never "ban, regulate or otherwise interfere with prayers, recitations, or words of religious expression absent family objection." Related to that, veterans' families are going to be allowed to hold funerals under any desired religious or secular banner desired.

Further, the VA will make no attempt to manage or revise any "private religious speech" used during any VA-sponsored event or ceremony. It will also place back in the cemetery's chapel a bible, a cross, and a Star of David that had been removed. The VA also agreed to keep the chapel open, functioning as a chapel, and referred to as a chapel, as opposed to a "meeting facility."

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.