Local man takes fight with Arizona DES to Court of Appeals

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) -A local man says his fight with the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) has reached the Arizona Court of Appeals. The local says the DES's actions have caused him significant harm."It's just really shocking that this happened to me and it caused me real life harm. Nobody should have to go through what I had to go through because they made an unlawful decision," Jason Lujan said.

During the pandemic, emergency rental assistance program benefits were administered — and some people suddenly lost their benefits without warning or receiving the rest of their funding. That left residents without income and at risk for homelessness.

"The purpose of that program was defeated by the DES. The government sent out money during that time to prevent everything that happened to me and they didn't do that. They didn't honor it," Lujan said.

Lujan says the court granted his application for appeal and is ordering a briefing on whether DES exceeded its statutory authority by creating eligibility restrictions that he argues contradict federal law.

We have reached out to DES for comment and are still waiting to hear back.