Citation Nr: 1111883	
Decision Date: 03/24/11    Archive Date: 04/06/11

DOCKET NO.  10-46 696	)	DATE
	)
	)

Received from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO)
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA pension benefits in the amount of $42,236.00.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Disabled American Veterans


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

David A. Brenningmeyer, Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1974 to October 1974.

This appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) arose from a May 2010 decision of the Committee on Waivers and Compromises (COW) of the Debt Management Center in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, which denied the Veteran's request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA pension benefits on the basis that his request for waiver was not timely filed.  In July 2010, the Veteran filed a notice of disagreement (NOD).  The Philadelphia RO issued a statement of the case (SOC) in August 2010, and the Veteran filed a substantive appeal (via a VA Form 9, Appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals) in September 2010.

For the reasons expressed below, the matter on appeal is being remanded to the RO.  VA will notify the Veteran when further action, on his part, is required.


REMAND

On his September 2010 VA Form 9, the Veteran checked a box indicating that he wished to have a Board video-conference hearing.  

Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.700 (2010), a hearing on appeal will be granted to an appellant who requests a hearing and is willing to appear in person.  See also 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107 (West 2002) (pertaining specifically to hearings before the Board).  Accordingly, and because the RO schedules Board video-conference hearings, a remand of this matter for the RO to schedule the requested hearing is warranted.

Accordingly, this matter is hereby REMANDED for the following action:

The RO should schedule the Veteran for a Board video-conference hearing in accordance with his request.  The RO should notify the Veteran and his representative of the date and time of the hearing.  See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(b) (2010).  After the hearing, the claims file should be returned to the Board in accordance with current appellate procedures.

The purpose of this remand is to afford due process; it is not the Board's intent to imply whether the benefit requested should be granted or denied.  The appellant need take no action until otherwise notified, but he may furnish additional evidence and/or argument during the appropriate time frame.  See Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999); Colon v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 104, 108 (1996); Booth v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 109 (1995); Quarles v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 129, 141 (1992).



_________________________________________________
JACQUELINE E. MONROE
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.  This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of the appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2010).