Citation Nr: 18145613
Decision Date: 10/29/18	Archive Date: 10/29/18

DOCKET NO. 16-24 875A
DATE:	October 29, 2018
ORDER
The appeal for service connection for lumbosacral strain is dismissed.
The appeal for a compensable disability rating prior to May 31, 2005, and a disability rating in excess of 20 percent thereafter for thoracic strain with arthritis and spondylolisthesis is dismissed.
FINDING OF FACT
1. The Board has issued a decision granting service connection for lumbosacral strain.
2. The Board has issued a decision granting a 20 percent disability rating prior to May 31, 2005 for thoracic strain with arthritis and spondylolisthesis.
3. The Board has issued a decision denying a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for thoracic strain with arthritis and spondylolisthesis.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The appeal for service connection for lumbosacral strain is moot and the claim is dismissed.  38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105.
The appeal for a compensable disability rating prior to May 31, 2005, and a disability rating in excess of 20 percent thereafter for thoracic strain with arthritis and spondylolisthesis is moot and is dismissed.  38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran in this case served on active duty from July 1973 to July 1977.  His claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain was adjudicated in a July 2017 Board decision.  His claim for a compensable disability rating prior to May 31, 2005, and a rating in excess of 20 percent thereafter for thoracic strain with arthritis and spondylolisthesis was remanded by the Board in July 2017 and subsequently adjudicated in a December 2017 Board decision.  
For reasons that remain unclear, the case was returned to the Board.  However, as noted, the issues on appeal to the Board have been adjudicated, and as such there remains no case or controversy concerning whether the Veteran is entitled to the benefit sought.  Accordingly, the appeal of the claims for service connection for a lumbosacral strain and an increased disability rating for thoracic strain with arthritis and spondylolisthesis are moot and are dismissed. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426 (1994).
 
MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	R. I. Sims, Associate Counsel