SCOTUS rules against VA in GI Bill case, giving some veterans full access to educational benefits

CHICAGO — A United States Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday could impact nearly 2 million military veterans.

The court sided with an army veteran who tried to use education benefits from separate GI bills but was denied by the VA.

With a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ended a nine-year legal battle fought by decorated Army veteran Jim Rudisill, who sued the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), saying he was wrongfully denied GI Bill education benefits that he earned, serving both before and after 9/11.

“Congress was very clear in what they intended for the post-9/11 GI Bill statutes to read it is if a veteran serves in the post-9/11 era – a separate and distinct term of service – they are entitled to post-9/11 benefits in their entirety,” Rudisill said.

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But the VA wouldn’t let him use post-9/11 benefits, which would have paid for grad school at Yale Divinity School, until he exhausted his pre-9/11 “Montgomery Bill” benefits, which were far less generous.

Writing for the majority, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson called the VA’s Argument “nonsensical” and said, “The bottom line is this: Veterans who separately accrue benefits under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills are entitled to both benefits.”

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas accused the majority of going around Congress.

“The Court ignores … Congress … in favor of … a desired outcome,” Thomas wrote.

Attorney Misha Tseytlin, a Chicago-based partner for the law firm Troutman Pepper, argued the case pro bono.

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“You feel more of a weight on your shoulders than even in a normal case because it impacts so many folks and the folks that gave so much time to the nation – but those who served the nation longest, because those are the ones who are impacted by our case,” Tseytlin said.

“Those who live in Illinois should feel proud that one of their own was working on this case,” Tseytlin said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs pays out $8 billion in educational benefits every year, an amount that could increase as a result of the ruling.

“I did earn these benefits, but yes, this case has taken on a seriousness much deeper than me on my own,” Rudisill said.

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