Citation Nr: 21069585 Decision Date: 11/18/21 Archive Date: 11/18/21 DOCKET NO. 16-39 707 DATE: November 18, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a lumbar spine disorder, to include claimed pinched nerve, is dismissed under the Legacy appeal system. Service connection for a cervical spine disorder, to include claimed pinched nerve, is dismissed under the Legacy appeal system. FINDING OF FACT On June 12, 2020, prior to the Board's June 30, 2020 decision, the Board received notification from the Veteran (via VA Form 10182) which included an opt-in to the modernized review system under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The appeal pertaining to entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine disorder, to include claimed pinched nerve, is dismissed under the Legacy appeal system. 38 U.S.C. § 7104 (a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400 (c), 19.52(b), 20.104(c). 2. The appeal pertaining to entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder, to include claimed pinched nerve, is dismissed under the Legacy appeal system. 38 U.S.C. § 7104 (a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400 (c), 19.52(b), 20.104(c). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from April 1979 to November 1983. This case originally came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from April 2013 and February 2014 rating decisions of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in November 2017; a transcript of the hearing is of record. On June 30, 2020, the Board issued a decision denying the claims on appeal under the Legacy appeal system. The Veteran appealed the Board's decision to the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeal (Court), resulting in a July 2021 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) by the Parties to the JMR (the Veteran and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs). Specifically, the parties in the JMR agreed that the Board erred when it did not determine whether it had jurisdiction to review the Veteran's claims in light of his June 12, 2020, VA Form 10182, which included an opt-in to the modernized review system under AMA. Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.2400(c)(2), following the issuance of a Statement of the Case (SOC) or Supplemental SOC (SSOC), dated on or after February 19, 2019, a claimant with an eligible legacy appeal may elect to opt-in to the modernized review system. On June 12, 2020, following the issuance of the May 15, 2020, SSOC for both claims on appeal, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 10182 which marked the SSOC opt-in provision and elected evidence submission review by a veterans law judge. This selection provided 90 days to submit additional evidence to the Board. However, the Board issued the decision on appeal on June 30, 2020, under the legacy appeal system and prior to the expiration of 90 days from the date of the VA Form 10182. In its decision, the Board did not address whether it had jurisdiction to review the Veteran's claims under the legacy appeal system. That notwithstanding, the Board is honoring the request by the Veteran to opt-in to the AMA system regarding both issues on appeal. The AMA appeal is being docketed at the Board (under the AMA system) and a decision will be rendered in a separate, forthcoming document. As it pertains to a pending September 10, 2020 Motion to Vacate at the Board, the parties' JMR, pursuant to the Court's June 22, 2021 order, serves as a resolution of that matter. Accordingly, the Motion to Vacate the Board's June 2020 decision is moot. S. B. MAYS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Casadei, 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.