The opinion
Citation Nr: 1522731
Decision Date: 05/29/15 Archive Date: 06/11/15
DOCKET NO. 13-01 528 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee
THE ISSUES
1. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability.
2. Entitlement to service connection for a back diability.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: The American Legion
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
N. Sangster, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The Veteran served on active duty from July 1980 to January 1981. He died on June [redacted], 2014.
This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2011 rating decision of the Nashville, Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which denied the benefits sought on appeal.
FINDING OF FACT
In May 2015, the Board was notified by the RO that the appellant died in June 2014.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time. 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2014); but see 38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A (West 2014); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. pts. 3, 14, and 20).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
Unfortunately, the appellant died during the pendency of the appeal. As a matter of law, appellants' claims do not survive their deaths. Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236, 1243-44 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Smith v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 330, 333-34 (1997); Landicho v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 42, 47 (1994). This appeal on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the appellant and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2014); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,984 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302).
In reaching this determination, the Board intimates no opinion as to the merits of this appeal or to any derivative claim brought by a survivor of the Veteran. 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,984 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106).
The Board's dismissal of this appeal does not affect the right of an eligible person to file a request to be substituted as the appellant for purposes of processing the claim to completion. Such request must be filed not later than one year after the date of the appellant's death. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A (West 2014); 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b)). A person eligible for substitution includes "a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title ...." 38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A (West 2014); see 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a)). An eligible party seeking substitution in an appeal that has been dismissed by the Board due to the death of the claimant should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated (listed on the first page of this decision). 79 Fed. Reg. 52,977, 52,982 (Sept. 5, 2014) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b)).
ORDER
The appeal is dismissed.
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K. PARAKKAL
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Department of Veterans Affairs