Los Angeles failed to meet obligations for homeless residents, judge finds

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge determined that Los Angeles failed to meet its obligations under a settlement agreement with the LA Alliance for Human Rights and must provide an updated plan detailing how it will create almost 13,000 shelter beds for homeless residents by the end of June 2027, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.

Judge slams LA for noncompliance in homelessness case

What we know:

In an order filed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge David Carter, he wrote that the city has shown "a consistent lack of cooperation and responsiveness -- an unwillingness to provide documentation unless compelled by court order or media scrutiny."

Carter stopped short of finding that the city breached the agreement on the whole and declined the "last resort" of appointing a receiver to enforce the city's compliance with the lawsuit settlement, as requested by plaintiffs. But the court did institute a federal monitor to oversee compliance "and ask the hard questions on behalf of Angelenos," the judge wrote.

The order comes after a seven-day evidentiary hearing in which the LA Alliance, a coalition of business owners, city and county residents, alleged that the city's refusal to provide updated plans, meet its milestones, correct its encampment reduction numbers, and verify its reporting has unnecessarily and unfairly wasted the resources of the parties and the court.

The judge agreed, finding that rather than spending taxpayer dollars on uncovering the missing data or striving to provide verification, the city fought with the results and methods of a court-ordered independent audit of its homeless services.

What they're saying:

Karen Richardson, a spokesperson for LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, said the court made the right decision by rejecting the Alliance's "radical request to appoint an unelected and unaccountable receiver" to control the city's homelessness programs.

"Over the last three years, the city of Los Angeles has successfully moved thousands of Angelenos off the streets, into housing and services," Richardson said in a statement. "Thousands of new housing units have been built, and homelessness is down in L.A. for the first time in years."

Deep flaws revealed

The backstory:

The case started in March 2020 when LA Alliance filed a complaint against the city and county accusing officials of not doing enough to address homelessness.

A settlement was signed off in September 2023, in which the county agreed to supply an additional 3,000 beds for mental and substance abuse treatment by the end of next year and subsidies for 450 new board-and-care beds. The LA Alliance settled with the city in 2022, but later filed papers alleging the city was not meeting its obligations.

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The independent assessment made public in March was unable to verify the number of homeless shelter beds the city claims to have created.

According to LA Alliance, a yearlong audit revealed Los Angeles' homeless response to be burdened with antiquated systems, obsolete data infrastructure, contracts lacking accountability and leadership either unwilling or unable to correct course.

Creating shelter beds for homeless residents 

By the numbers:

The agreement requires the city to produce 12,915 shelter beds by June 2027. There are still over 3,800 beds to be created, court papers show.

"Plaintiffs in this case ask the court to declare the system irreparably broken," Carter wrote in his 62-page order. "They argue that only the imposition of a receivership can meet this moment.

"But the court is not a policymaker. It cannot be. Its role is narrower, but no less vital: to uphold the promises made to the public, to enforce the agreements signed, and to ensure transparency and accountability in their execution."

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What's next:

Carter ordered quarterly hearings, beginning Nov. 12, and continuing as needed, to ensure the city's commitments are honored. The city's plan detailing its updated bed plan must be delivered by Oct. 3, the judge said.

"The court wants the city to succeed," he wrote. "Because when the system fails, people die. And when it works -- even slowly -- lives are saved."

Carter determined that such failures "have undermined public trust and judicial trust alike."

Homeless CrisisLos Angeles