Citation Nr: 21071931
Decision Date: 12/01/21	Archive Date: 12/01/21

DOCKET NO. 17-49 346
DATE: December 1, 2021

ORDER

The issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran died in late 2021, during the pendency of the claim. 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Due to the death of the Veteran, the Board has no jurisdiction to presently adjudicate the merits of this appeal. 38 U.S.C. § 7104 (a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active service from September 1988 to May 1991.

The Board has been notified that the Veteran died in 2021, during the pendency of his appeal. 

As a matter of law, veterans' 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 on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. 38 U.S.C. § 7104 (a) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1302 (2019).

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 (2019).

The appeal is dismissed. 

 

Vito A. Clementi

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Timothy T. Emmart

The Board's action is binding only in this case. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.