Citation Nr: 18141782
Decision Date: 10/11/18	Archive Date: 10/11/18

DOCKET NO. 16-26 168
DATE:	October 11, 2018
ORDER
1. The appeal concerning the issue of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left eye injury is dismissed. 
2. The appeal concerning the issue of entitlement to service connection for bipolar disorder is dismissed.
3. The appeal concerning the issue of entitlement to service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT
While the current appeal was pending at the Board and prior to the issuance of a final decision, the Board received notice that the Veteran died on November [redacted], 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 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
The Veteran served on active duty from September 1975 to April 1978. 
These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA or Board) on appeal from a December 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio. Jurisdiction has since been transferred to the RO in Detroit, Michigan.
Dismissal
Unfortunately, the Veteran 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 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).
 
MICHAEL E. KILCOYNE
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Erin J. Trojanowski, Associate Counsel