Citation Nr: 20072895
Decision Date: 11/12/20	Archive Date: 11/12/20

DOCKET NO. 17-45 521
DATE: November 12, 2020

REMANDED

Entitlement to a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pension benefits in the amount of $450.00 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) has twice remanded this case for the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to furnish the Veteran with a statement of the case (SOC), but this action has not yet been accomplished.  The failure to issue a statement of the case is a procedural defect requiring a remand.  Manlincon v. West 12 Vet. App. 238 (1999).  

In a July 2020 Memorandum, the Committee on Waivers and Compromises (Committee) indicated that there was no appeal to the $450.00 debt, noting that in March 2012, the Committee had reconsidered the Veteran’s waiver request and waived all but $450.00 of the debt.  The Committee indicated that there was no appeal to the $450.00 debt.  However, as previously noted by the Board, the Committee originally denied the Veteran’s request for waiver of the debt totaling $5,950 in an August 2011 decision.  Thereafter, in March 2012, the Veteran requested again that the Committee waive the debt.  The Board accepted that correspondence (located in the Legacy Documents e-folder) as a timely notice of disagreement (NOD).  Although the Committee considered this document as a request for a reconsideration of the debt, the Board made clear that it was accepted by the Board as an NOD.  The Board also noted that the Committee reconsidered the total debt and granted a partial waiver.  Specifically, the majority of the debt was waived except for $450.00.  The Board requested that the Veteran be issued an SOC, as he had initiated an appeal with an NOD as to the total amount of the debt.  Thus, even though part of the debt was waived, the amount of $450.00 which remained denied was still on appeal.  Therefore, notwithstanding the July 2020 Memorandum, the $450.00 debt should be addressed in an SOC as previously requested by the Board.

In light of the foregoing, further action is necessary in this case, in accordance with the previous Board remand directives.  See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (as a matter of law, a remand by the Board confers on the Veteran the right to compliance with the remand orders).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

The Veteran should be sent an SOC in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7105 and 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.29, 19.30 on the issue of entitlement to a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA pension benefits in the amount of $450.00.  If the Veteran perfects the appeal by submitting a timely and adequate substantive appeal on this issue, then the claim should be returned to the Board.

 

 

S. L. Kennedy

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Connolly, 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.