Citation Nr: 21005041 Decision Date: 01/28/21 Archive Date: 01/28/21 DOCKET NO. 13-14 293 DATE: January 28, 2021 ORDER The appeal is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In December 2020, the Board was notified that the Veteran died earlier that month, which was confirmed by the Social Security Administration in January 2021. 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 served on active duty from January 1966 to November 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued in July 2011 by a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In June 2017, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing conducted before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in June 2017. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the record. In November 2017, the Board denied the Veteran’s claim for an increased rating for ischemic heart disease (IHD) and remanded his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The Veteran appealed the Board’s denial of his increased rating claim to the United States Court of Veterans Appeals (Court). In July 2018, the Court granted the parties’ Joint Motion for Partial Remand (Joint Motion), which vacated the Board’s decision as to the denial of the Veteran’s claim for an increased rating for IHD. In October 2018, the Board remanded such claim for additional development and, in January 2019, again remanded the Veteran’s claim for a TDIU to satisfy due process concerns. While on remand, a May 2020 rating decision awarded a TDIU as of December 18, 2017, and an August 2020 rating decision awarded a 60 percent rating for the Veteran’s IHD as of December 3, 2018. Thus, the Board has recharacterized the issues on appeal to reflect such partial awards. 1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to December 3, 2018, and in excess of 60 percent thereafter for IHD. 2. Entitlement to a TDIU prior to December 18, 2017. Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal. 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). Accordingly, this appeal on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and must therefore 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 appellant’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. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b). A. JAEGER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board N. Northcutt, 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.