Citation Nr: 21073402 Decision Date: 12/08/21 Archive Date: 12/08/21 DOCKET NO. 20-03 587 DATE: December 8, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to waiver of recovery of an overpayment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation benefits in the amount of $7,918.53, to include the question of whether the overpayment was properly created, is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In January 2020, the Committee on Waivers and Compromises (Committee) of the Regional Office (RO) granted a full waiver of indebtedness in the amount of $7,918.53. CONCLUSION OF LAW Having been resolved in his favor by the Committee, the Veteran's claim for waiver of recovery of an overpayment of VA benefits in the amount of $7,918.53 is moot. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1965 to January 1970. In January 2018, VA removed C.D., the Veteran's former spouse, from his award, after receiving notification of her death in November 2013. The delayed removal resulted in a $7,918.53 overpayment debt. In January 2018, the Veteran was notified that they removed C.D. as his dependent spouse, and in a February 2018 DMC First Demand Letter, he was advised that he was paid $7,918.53 more than he was entitled to receive. In a February 2018 statement and the March 2018 notice of disagreement (NOD), the Veteran questioned the validity of the debt and requested a waiver. In December 2019, the RO issued a statement of the case (SOC) finding that the debt was validly created. The SOC noted that the Veteran's request for a waiver was being considered by the Committee and would be addressed in a separate decision. The Veteran filed a timely substantive appeal to the Board with a January 2020 VA Form 9. Then in March 2020, the Veteran received a DMC Waiver Grant Letter, informing him that his request for waiver had been approved by the Committee. After receiving notification that his debt had been waived, in May 2020 the Veteran received notification that his appeal had been certified to the Board. In response, the Veteran called VA, and a May 2020 report of general information shows that he asserted that he was content with the repayment of the money and that he did not want anything else to go on in this case. In the January 2020 Decision of Waiver on Indebtedness, the Committee granted the Veteran's claim for a waiver of indebtedness in the amount of $7,918.53. By granting the claim for a waiver in the full amount of the overpayment, the January 2020 decision resolved that issue in the Veteran's favor. This is considered a complete grant of the claim sought on appeal. Under these circumstances, the Veteran's appeal of the earlier denial of that claim is no longer a live case or controversy. The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision. 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. There remain no allegations of error of fact or law for appellate consideration. See Waterhouse v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 473 (1992) (finding that, after a waiver has been granted, the Veteran has no standing to challenge the validity of debt). The Court has held that the appropriate disposition of a moot claim is to dismiss the appeal. See Herlehy v. Principi, 15 Vet. App. 33, 35 (2001). Accordingly, the Board has no further jurisdiction to review the appeal with respect to the issue validity of the overpayment or waiver of recovery and the appeal must be dismissed. See Aronson v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 153, 155 (1994). L. B. CRYAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Labi, 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.