Van Luven to Serve 120 Days in Jail
Staff Writer - Rick Townsend
11/27/04
Vietnam combat disabled veteran Dale Van Luven, 54, of Hermitage
Tennessee,
is currently incarcerated at the Correctional Work Center in Nashville. Earlier
this month, Forth Circuit Court Judge Muriel Robinson sentenced Van Luven to
jail on 12 counts of Contempt of Court and failure to pay alimony. Although Van
Luven’s court date was November 3rd, the court order was not received by the Van
Luven family until today, more than 3 weeks later. Van Luven has been under the
impression Judge Robinson ordered him to serve 30 days behind bars. However, a
review of the recently obtained court order states Van Luven is to serve 120
days if he is unable to pay nearly $6000 in past alimony payments by December 3,
2004.
Dale Van Luven was jailed because he has refused to pay alimony that was
calculated using his VA disability compensation as a payment source. In fact, a
review of the Van Luven final divorce decree does reveal that his VA disability
compensation and Social Security disability were factored into the divorce
settlement as divisible assets. According to federal laws established to protect
veteran’s benefits from seizure or attachment, this is a direct violation of
U.S. Code, Title 38 & 42.
Apparently, the attorney Van Luven retained did not take the time to explain the judge’s ruling to Van Luven or his family. Attorney at Law, Ray Galbreath of Nashville has indicated his legal obligation to Mr. Van Luven has been met and he plans no future representation or action in his case. The Van Luven family feels they wasted their money on an attorney that was not capable or is unwilling to properly represent Mr. Van Luven’s claim that Judge Robinson was in violation of federal law by including his VA disability compensation in court ordered alimony payments.
Fellow Vietnam
combat veteran Jere Beery, 56, of Jefferson Ohio tells a similar story. In March
of this year, Beery was ordered by Georgia Superior Court Judge Alan Keeble to
pay his ex-wife alimony calculated using his VA disability compensation as a
divisible asset as well. In the Beery case, VA disability compensation is his
only means of livelihood.
Earlier this year Beery and Van Luven teamed up in an effort to bring attention
to this obvious attack on veteran’s benefits by state judges. Their story has
sent a shockwave through the U.S. military community and the two men have gained
support from fellow veterans as far away as Australia.
Mr. Van Luven’s fiancé, Cathy Burus (Cat) was shocked at the news Dale will not
be coming home next week. Ms. Burus explained in a phone interview yesterday,
“Dale has spent Thanksgiving in jail, now I’m being told he will be in jail for
Christmas and New Year's too. He is not a criminal. We don’t have the kind of
money they are demanding. This is simply wrong.” Beery added, “Dale Van Luven is
standing up to protect his earned veteran’s benefits from attachment. Dale knows
what he is doing is for the benefit of all veterans. This makes him a great
American in my book”.
Van Luven and Beery are both rated 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs due to combat related injuries sustained during their service in the Vietnam War. Van Luven received a serious head wound when his bulldozer hit a land mine, and Beery suffered several horrendous wounds after his Navy patrol boat was hit by two anti-tank rockets. Both men’s service records reflect combat duty of the highest level.
Beery and Van Luven feel their cases are extremely pertinent to the future
protection of veteran’s benefits. “Everyday we have troops killed or injured in
the line of duty. The least we can do is insure the laws created to protect
their benefits are diligently enforced,” Beery stated.
The Beery case is currently in continuance with a
December 7, 2004 court date. “I
could very well be the next one jailed, as I will not under any circumstances
honor Judge Keeble’s ruling in my divorce. In no uncertain terms will I use my
VA disability compensation to pay alimony to my non-veteran able bodied
ex-wife,” Beery said.
Last week Jere Beery set up a defense fund in Van Luven’s name. Approximately
$900 has already been raised to retain another lawyer for Van Luven. Details
about donating to the fund can be found at
WWW.JEREBEERY.COM “This account and its funds will be used exclusively for
attorney fees in the pursuit of a legal challenge to Judge Robinson’s attachment
of Van Luven’s VA disability compensation. Under no circumstances will one penny
of this money be used to pay alimony in any form,” Beery stated. Beery explained
that the outcome of the Van Luven case would be of value to many disabled
veterans across the country. “This is not just about Dale and me. It’s about
every single person that is injured in the line of duty in the service of this
country. It’s about the earned benefits they are awarded for injury,
disfigurement, pain, discomfort and sacrifice. No one has the right to take that
from them - or divert it in any way to another person,” Beery added.
Dale Van Luven has already served 180 days in jail on similar charges related to alimony payments in 2003. “I don’t mean to sound sarcastic, but Martha Stewart is doing less jail time for felony insider trading,” Beery suggested.
In addition to Van Luven’s legal battle, he suffers from a number of service related illnesses and conditions. Two weeks ago Jere Beery drove 600 miles to visit Van Luven and hand-deliver VA prescribed anti-seizure medicines which he was being denied in jail. Now, the Van Luven family has been notified that his anti-seizure medicine is missing from the medical department within the correctional facility. According to Dale Van Luven in phone conversations home, his jailors are not giving him his medications as prescribed, or they are substituting them with what they have decided he should be receiving. Either way, this would appear to be putting Van Luven’s health at risk. “This is a jail, a place where bad people and criminals are imprisoned. It is not a hotel or hospital. No one there is going to go out of their way to accommodate an inmate,” Beery stated. “Guards are not taught how to care for sick people in jail. They could care less. Dale is an innocent person being treated as a criminal, and he is not in good health,” Beery added.
Terri Henderson, Ms. Burus' daughter and Dale Van Luven’s future step-daughter
said Van Luven’s incarceration is really taking its toll on their family. “My
mother is disabled and fighting cancer. If it were not for all the letters and
emails of support and prayers we have received, I don’t think she could handle
this,” Henderson concluded.
If you care to write to Dale Van Luven, please use this address:
DALE VANLUVEN #209919
Correctional Work Center
448 Second Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37201
For the entire story, visit
WWW.JEREBEERY.COM
Jere Beery –
jerebeery@aol.com
Dale Van Luven family -
vietna467@aol.com
Click Here For "VAN LUVEN Defense Fund" Information