Citation Nr: 1634878	
Decision Date: 09/06/16    Archive Date: 09/09/16

DOCKET NO.  12-10 710	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Montgomery, Alabama


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to include as due to exposure to herbicides.


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Disabled American Veterans


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Veteran


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

L. Edwards Andersen, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran had active service from October 1966 to October 1968.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) from a September 2010 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Jackson, Mississippi.  The matter is now handled by the RO in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Veteran requested a hearing before the Board.  The requested hearing was conducted in March 2015 by a Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript is associated with the claims file.

In July 2015, the Board remanded this claim for additional development.

This appeal was processed using the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) paperless claims processing system.  In addition to the VBMS claims file, there is a Virtual VA paperless file associated with the Veteran's case.  Accordingly, any future consideration of this Veteran's case should take into consideration the existence of this electronic record. 


FINDING OF FACT

In July 2016, VA was notified that the Veteran died in July 2016.


CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim at this time.  38 U.S.C.A. § 7104 (a) (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1010, 20.1302 (2015); Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-389, § 212, 122 Stat. 4145, 4151 (2015).


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.  As a matter of law, Veterans' 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 Veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  See 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104 (a) (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2015).

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 (2015).  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 no later than one year after the date of the Veteran's death.  See 38 U.S.C.A. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1010, 20.1302.  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 regional office (RO) from which the claim originated (listed on the first page of this decision).  Id.  


ORDER

The appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.



____________________________________________
TANYA SMITH
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals


Department of Veterans Affairs