PRESS RELEASE #12
Van Luven Charged With 12 Counts Of Criminal Contempt, Judge Keeble Buys Time
By Staff Writer: Rick Townsend
06/28/04
Vietnam combat disabled Veteran Dale Van Luven, of Hermitage, Tennessee, is now facing 12 counts of criminal contempt for not “voluntarily” relinquishing his VA disability compensation for alimony.
Van Luven, who suffers from a number of combat related injuries, received papers yesterday from his ex-wife’s lawyer requesting the court find Mr. Van Luven in contempt and sentence him to 120 days in jail. “Since I can’t pay the thousands of dollars they want, I will go to jail,” Van Luven said. Van Luven has pledged if he is arrested and jailed he will refuse to take any of his many medications and will go on a hunger strike. “This has simply got to stop here and now,” Van Luven stated. “According to U.S. Code, Title 38, and Title 42, and because there are no children involved or military retirement in my case, my VA disability compensation should never have been equated into my ability to pay alimony. State Judges are violating Federal Law and no one will do a damn thing about it”, Van Luven stated.
Vietnam combat disabled veteran Jere Beery, of Jefferson Ohio, is facing a
similar situation in Newnan Georgia. Beery was ordered to pay $24,000.00 in
alimony by Georgia Superior Court Judge, Alan Keeble. Beery is not employed and
his only source from which to pay this court ordered alimony is his VA
disability compensation.
Beery and Van Luven joined forces earlier this year to fight to protect VA disability compensation from this kind of future infraction. Their efforts are gaining widespread support within the veteran/military community nationwide. “The ACLU of Georgia has indicated they are looking into the matter from a noncommittal position at this time,” Beery stated. “And we are being contacted by disabled veterans from a number of states claiming similar situations every week,” Beery added.
In March of this year, Beery publicly published his personal “Declaration of Contempt” vowing he could not comply with Judge Keeble’s Court Order to use his VA disability compensation to pay alimony to his able bodied non-veteran ex-wife. “Believe me, Dale and I do not want to go to jail over this, but we will if someone doesn't do something fast, ”Beery added. Both Beery and Van Luven have made it perfectly clear that they are very serious about this matter and both very willing see it through to the end. “It’s not just an attack on the two of us, Beery said. “This is an illegal attack on every single military person ever injured in the line of duty in service to this country,” Beery added.
Meanwhile, Judge Keeble has ordered a Continuance in Beery’s Motion for a new Hearing. In Chambers, with both attorneys, Judge Keeble stated he needed more time to review the Federal Codes. He also placed a possible resolution of the matter in the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Beery to settle. Judge Keeble’s Continuance has dramatically affected Beery’s plans to be arrested on July 4th. “I personally think the Judge is buying time to avoid any possible embarrassment my public arrest might cause Coweta County and the State of Georgia on such a big holiday,” Beery claimed.
Jack Nebl, Beery’s attorney, stated, “Mr. Beery has taken the high ground here and is approaching this issue with the overall future protection of veteran’s benefits in mind. My client has been offered an opportunity to settle this matter with his ex-wife and quite possibly pay no alimony at all. Instead, Mr. Beery has shown a sincere desire to walk away from anything he may be able to salvage from a new property settlement and pursue the bigger issue here, protection of VA disability compensation. My legal team and I are going to do everything we can to help Mr. Beery accomplish his objectives,” Nebl concluded.
Vietnam Veteran and lead investigator on the Beery case, Rick Plymale said, “It is obvious that other disabled veterans are in distress over this kind of judicial breach between State and Federal laws concerning VA disability compensation. We are humbly requesting that other legal professionals consider looking into cases such as Van Luven’s in Tennessee on a pro-bono basis as soon as possible. I shudder to think of an American combat disabled veteran doing real jail time for not giving up his protected VA benefits,” Plymale said.
Nebl and Plymale indicated plans were in the works to create a defense fund to finance a challenge to Judge Keeble’s ruling before the Georgia Supreme Court if necessary. “It all depends on how the Judge proceeds from here,” Plymale stated, “but if we do proceed to the State Supreme Court, it can get relatively expensive. Jack and I will still donate the majority of our professional services, but there are related expenses that the firm just cannot bare”.
To date, neither the Department of Veterans Affairs, nor any of the several dozen Congressionally Chartered Veterans Service Organizations have offered assistance, or indicated they would even look into the matter. “We do not get involved in civil cases”, seems to be the common response received from these agencies and groups. This has left many veterans across the country stunned in disbelief.
Plymale added, “It’s interesting that the Veteran’s Service Organizations refuse to involve themselves in ‘civil cases’, when there is almost no other situation in which these protected benefits are at risk. My question to them is, do you involve yourselves in criminal cases? My guess would be no. Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that you (the VSO’s) involve yourselves in nothing.”
Dale Van Luven Vietna467@aol.com
Jere Beery jerebeery@aol.com
Jack Nebl & Rick Plymale lawdog@mfire.com
All questions, comments and suggestions about this web sight should be submitted to: JERE BEERY