Citation Nr: 1800631	
Decision Date: 01/05/18    Archive Date: 01/19/18

DOCKET NO. 14-34 706	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Buffalo, New York


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for metastatic choriocarcinoma.


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Vietnam Veterans of America


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The Veteran


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

E. Duthely, Associate Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1989 to April 1995; January 2007 to October 2007; and December 2009 to December 2010. 

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Buffalo, New York. 

In May 2016, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge seated at the RO. During the hearing, the undersigned engaged in a colloquy with the Veteran toward substantiation of the claim. See Bryant v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 488, 496-97 (2010). A transcript of the Board hearing is included in the electronic claims file.

The Veteran died during the pendency of this appeal, and the appeal will be dismissed.


FINDING OF FACT

On October 20, 2017, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in 2017.


CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2017). 



REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

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 has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2017).

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 (2017). 

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. § 5121A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2017). 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. § 5121A (2012); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a) (2017). 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). 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b) (2017). 


ORDER

Service connection for metastatic choriocarcinoma is dismissed.



____________________________________________
VITO A. CLEMENTI
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Department of Veterans Affairs