Citation Nr: 20021609
Decision Date: 03/26/20	Archive Date: 03/26/20

DOCKET NO. 05-33 513
DATE: March 26, 2020

ORDER

The appeal of the claim for an effective date earlier than March 7, 1995, for the grant of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

On February 4, 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was notified that the Veteran died in January 2020.

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); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active service from November 1972 to October 1973. An October 1988 determination of the Army Discharge Review Board upgraded the Veteran’s discharge to Under Honorable Conditions (General). A December 2018 Board decision granted an effective date of March 7, 1995, but no earlier, for the award of service connection for mood disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. The matter was returned following a November 2019 joint motion for partial remand from U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Unfortunately, the Veteran died in January 2020.  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.  38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302.

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.

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 Veteran’s death.  38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).  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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a).  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).

 

MICHAEL A. HERMAN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Douglas M. Humphrey, Associate 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.