Citation Nr: 21005114
Decision Date: 01/29/21	Archive Date: 01/29/21

DOCKET NO. 14-39 797
DATE: January 29, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $31,939.50 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard from June 1973 to April 1975 and in the U.S. Navy from December 1979 to January 2004.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 Decision on Waiver of Indebtedness issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Committee on Waivers and Compromises (COWC).  

The claim was denied in a January 2019 Board decision.  

The Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  A Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) was issued in July 2020 vacating the January 2019 Board decision and remanding for compliance with the terms of the JMPR.

In December 2020 the Board, after finding that the Veteran’s request for a waiver was timely filed, remanded the appeal to the RO for additional development.

The case has now been returned for further appellate consideration. 

Entitlement to a waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $31,939.50

The December 2020 Board remand directed the VA Regional Office (RO) to refer the issue of entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $31,939.50 to the COWC for adjudication, and to associate the April 2014 waiver request with the record if it exists.  

In a December 2020 phone call, the Veteran requested to withdraw his waiver request, and indicated that the overpayment debt was cleared in 2016 when his spouse was granted an apportionment of his benefits while he was incarcerated. The RO did not thereafter obtain a written withdrawal of appeal from the Veteran. Rather, the RO simply returned the appeal to the Board. 

The RO did not comply with the Board’s directives and did not issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).  A remand by the Board confers on the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).  As a review of the record does not reveal a withdrawal of the Veteran’s appeal pursuant to the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 20.204, there remains a dispute of fact or law which must be adjudicated.  The appropriate Board action is to remand this issue for compliance with Board remand directives and issuance of a SSOC.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. In the absence of a written withdrawal of appeal from the Veteran, refer the issue of entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA compensation benefits in the amount of $31,939.50 to the COWC for adjudication.

2. The April 2014 waiver request referenced in the May 2014 COWC decision, if it exists, should be associated with the record. 

 

 

TANYA SMITH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	T. Bynum, 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.