Citation Nr: 0812939 Decision Date: 04/18/08 Archive Date: 05/01/08 DOCKET NO. 06-13 932A ) DATE ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Oakland, California THE ISSUE Entitlement to reimbursement of $1,195.68 for the unauthorized payment for the prescription drug, CellCept, at a non-Department of Veterans Affairs pharmacy. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: California Department of Veterans Affairs ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Michael A. Pappas, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran-appellant in this case served on active duty from January 1951 to January 1954. He died in September 2007. This appeal originates from a February 2006 decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) San Francisco, California, Medical Center that denied the veteran's request for reimbursement of $1,195.68 for the unauthorized payment for the prescription drug, CellCept, at a non-VA pharmacy. The case was subsequently transferred to the Oakland, California, Regional Office (RO). FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The veteran-appellant in this case served on active duty from January 1951 to January 1954. 2. On October 11, 2007 the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) was notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office, Oakland, California, that the appellant died in September 2007. CONCLUSION OF LAW Due to the death of the appellant, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2007). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS 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 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2007). 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. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1106 (2007). ORDER The appeal is dismissed. C. CRAWFORD Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals