Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has filed a case in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, seeking to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) complies with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding veteran education benefits.
The lawsuit is joined by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and individual veterans, including James Rudisill. Rudisill, a Virginia resident and decorated army veteran, was at the center of the Supreme Court case but has not yet received his full benefits.
In 2023, Attorney General Miyares led two multistate coalitions urging the Supreme Court to consider Rudisill’s claim for benefits. The following year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Rudisill, confirming that eligible veterans are entitled to a combined 48 months of education benefits under both the Montgomery G.I. Bill and Post-9/11 G.I. Bills.
Attorney General Miyares stated: “Despite the Supreme Court’s clear holding, however, the VA has continued to take a cramped reading of the GI Bills, denying benefits to large swaths of qualified veterans.”
One example cited involved a Virginia Army veteran who served nearly 24 years and was denied full G.I. Bill education benefits. This denial prevented him from transferring those benefits to his daughter for law school tuition.
Miyares also noted: “In March 2025 and again in June 2025, Attorney General Miyares led a bipartisan coalition of all 50 states supporting the veteran’s claim.” Last month, while the VA agreed in principle to restore this individual’s benefit, it did not extend similar relief to other veterans.
According to Miyares: “Because the VA’s unduly restrictive reading of both the statutes and the Supreme Court’s clear directive in Rudisill affects numerous other veterans, Virginia, individual veterans, and two veterans’ organizations brought this challenge to the guidance used by the VA to wrongfully deny benefits to qualified veterans.”
The legal action seeks broader compliance from the VA so that all qualifying veterans receive their guaranteed education benefits as established by federal law and affirmed by the highest court.
