Citation Nr: 20046089 Decision Date: 07/09/20 Archive Date: 07/09/20 DOCKET NO. 19-15 340 DATE: July 9, 2020 ORDER The appeal as to whether the overpayment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation benefits in the amount of $4,010.00 was properly created is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. On February 4, 2018, the VA Debt Management Center (DMC) notified the Veteran that he was over paid VA compensation benefits in the amount of $4,010.00; this overpayment created a debt in the amount of $4,010.00. 2. On February 16, 2018, the Veteran disagreed with creation of the overpayment in the amount of $4,010.00. 3. In an April 30, 2019 decision, the VA Committee on Waivers and Compromises (COWC) granted a full waiver of the overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $4,010.00, and the Veteran was notified in a May 28, 2019 DMC – Waiver Grant Letter. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for dismissal of the appeal as to whether the overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $4,010.00 was properly created have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.22, 20.103, 20.104, 20.201. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from February 1991 to May 1991 and from October 2003 to February 2005. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2018 determination by the DMC in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Veteran’s Notice of Disagreement with the validity of the debt was received in February 2018. The RO issued a Statement of the Case (SOC) in April 2019. Before the Veteran received notice of the COWC’s April 30, 2019 grant of a full waiver of the overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $4,010.00, the Veteran filed a VA Form 9, substantive appeal to the Board in May 2019. The case was subsequently certified to the Board on May 24, 2020. Dismissal of Appeal The Board only decides actual “questions” of law and fact in a case. 38 U.S.C. § 7104. The Board may dismiss any appeal that fails to allege a specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. In this case, on February 4, 2018, the DMC notified the Veteran that an overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $4,010.00 had been created. An April 30, 2019 Decision of Waiver indicated that the VA received information that the Veteran’s dependency status changed, noting that the Veteran’s dependent spouse was removed from his award effective December 1, 2017. It indicates that the COWC found the Veteran at fault in creation of the debt because he divorced his dependent spouse on February 24, 2006 but did not report this information to VA until September 13, 2017. Upon review of the Veteran’s Financial Status Report, financial hardship was not found as his income was found to exceed his expenses; however, VA mitigated the excess income as the Veteran’s future income potential is limited due to his age and service-connected disability health issues. COWC determined that because the benefits provide for his basic needs and because he was married during the entirety of the debt period, it defeats the purpose to withhold these benefits from the Veteran. The COWC stated that the evidence shows that the Veteran divorced his first spouse on February 24, 2006 and was remarried to his current spouse on June 17, 2006. and that, based on this information, he was entitled to the funds he received for a dependent spouse. In the May 2019 VA Form 9, the Veteran stated that he disagrees with being financially penalized for overpayment in the amount of $4,010. On May 28, 2019, in a DMC – Waiver Grant Letter, the Veteran was informed that his request for waiver of his compensation/pension debt has been approved by the COWC. It indicates that the granting of a waiver is forgiving the indebtedness. As the grant of the waiver of overpayment in the total amount of $4,010.00 completely eliminates the debt the Veteran owed to VA, the April 30, 2019 COWC decision represents a full grant of the benefit the Veteran was seeking on appeal, so renders moot any argument or question to decide with regards to the validity of the debt created. As noted above, the Veteran has expressed disagreement with the creation of the overpayment in the amount of $4,010.00, the amount of the overpayment. The grant of the waiver of overpayment in the total amount of $4,010.00 is the amount the Veteran disagreed with and constitutes a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal. (Continued on the next page)   Because the Veteran’s contentions as to the validity of the overpayment have been rendered moot, there remains no allegation of fact or law (i.e., no justiciable material issue or controversy) for the Board to decide. 38 U.S.C. § 7104 (providing that the Board only decides “material issues” of law and fact). Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the appeal of this matter; therefore, a dismissal of this appeal is warranted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104(a), 7105(d)(5); 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.22, 20.104. L. B. CRYAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Labi, 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.