Citation Nr: 20005877 Decision Date: 01/23/20 Archive Date: 01/23/20 DOCKET NO. 13-10 634 DATE: January 23, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for lumbar spine disability is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. A November 2019 Board decision granted entitlement to service connection for lumbar spine disability. 2. A December 2019 rating decision effectuated the award of service connection for lumbar spine disability. CONCLUSION OF LAW The claim of entitlement to service connection for lumbar spine disability is moot and is dismissed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.202. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1966 to February 1967. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2010 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In January 2013, the Veteran presented testimony at a Decision Review Officer (DRO) conference. Additionally, in March 2016, the Veteran testified at a Board videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge who is no longer employed with the Board. Copies of the DRO conference report and the Board hearing transcript have been associated with the claims file. By way of history, the Veteran filed a service connection claim for back condition in September 1969. That claim was denied in a January 1970 rating decision. The Veteran filed a notice of disagreement (NOD) in March 1970. Thereafter, the Veteran filed a new claim in February 1975. That claim was denied in an unappealed April 1975 rating decision on the basis that new and material evidence had not been received. The Veteran filed his current claim in March 2010, which also included a service connection claim for heart condition. A July 2010 rating decision denied both claims. The Veteran filed an NOD with regard to both claims in August 2010 and perfected his appeal to the Board in April 2013. In a June 2016 decision, the Board remanded the service connection claims for lumbar spine disability and heart condition so the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) could obtain outstanding Social Security Administration records and a VA heart examination. A subsequent May 2018 Board decision found that a June 2016 VA lumbar spine examination was inadequate and remanded the matter to obtain another examination. The same May 2018 decision denied the service connection claim for heart condition. The Veteran appealed the Board’s denial of his heart condition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In a May 2019 Order, the Court vacated the Board’s May 2018 decision and remanded for readjudication in compliance with the Joint Motion for Remand (JMR). In pertinent part, the JMR found the Board erred by not obtaining identified private treatment records. Thereafter, a November 2019 Board decision remanded the matter to obtain outstanding treatment records, conduct further development deemed necessary, and for issuance of a supplemental statement of the case. The service connection claim for heart condition is still being developed under the terms of the remand and is not currently before the Board. That issue will be subject to a later Board decision. With regard to the service connection claim for lumbar spine disability, it appears that claim has been sent back to the Board in error. As the service connection claim has been granted, that issue is no longer in appellate status as there is no case or controversy presently before the Board. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156, 1158-59 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Therefore, the appeal pertaining to entitlement to service connection for lumbar spine disability must be dismissed. MARISSA CAYLOR Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Lamb, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.