Citation Nr: 21068628 Decision Date: 11/10/21 Archive Date: 11/10/21 DOCKET NO. 15-14 809A DATE: November 10, 2021 ORDER The appeal is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran died in September 2021, during the pendency of this appeal. CONCLUSION OF LAW Because of the Veteran's death, the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim at this time. 38 U.S.C. § 7104(a); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302; but see 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1010, 20.1302. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1969 to September 1971 and from September 1971 to February 1979. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from July 2013 and August 2014 rating decisions. The July 2013 rating decision, in relevant part, denied service connection for diabetes mellitus type 2. The August 2014 rating decision assigned an initial noncompensable rating for a right shoulder scar and denied a rating higher than 30 percent for degenerative joint disease of the right shoulder. The Veteran appealed these decisions in August 2013 and February 2015, respectively. These appeals were later perfected to the Board via timely substantive appeals (Form 9) in May 2015 and August 2016. Unfortunately, the Veteran died in September 2021, during the pendency of this appeal. 11/04/2021, Report of Death. 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 therefore has become moot by virtue of the Veteran's death and accordingly must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. See 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 this claim to completion. See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1010, 20.1302. (Continued on the next page) A request for substitution must be filed with the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) not later than one year after the date of the appellant's death. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1010(b), 20.1302(a). If the AOJ grants the request to substitute, the case will assume its original place on the Board's docket. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.1302(a), 20.900(a)(2). Paul Sorisio Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board P. López, 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.