Citation Nr: 21073883
Decision Date: 12/13/21	Archive Date: 12/13/21

DOCKET NO. 17-52 356
DATE: December 13, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for a deviated nasal septum, to include as secondary to service-connected allergic rhinitis, is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

Prior to promulgation of a decision, the Board was notified that the Veteran died in October 2021.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

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

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served honorably in the United States Marines from March 1952 until March 1955.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2014 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  In April 2019, the matter was remanded for further development.  Once again in April 2021, the matter was remanded for further development and has since returned to the Board.

The Board acknowledges that the Veteran submitted a Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP) opt-in election form that was received in October 2018.  While the election form was transmitted, it was unsigned by the Veteran and therefore not eligible for the RAMP program.  Accordingly, the Board will undertake appellate review of the case.

Unfortunately, the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.  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 on the merits has become moot by virtue of the death of the Veteran and 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.

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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 the claim to completion.  Such request must be filed not later than one year after the date of the Veteran's death.  See 38 U.S.C. § 5121A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).  A person eligible for substitution includes "a living person who would be eligible to receive accrued benefits due to the claimant under section 5121(a) of this title."  38 U.S.C. § 5121A; see 38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(a).  An eligible party seeking substitution in an appeal that has been dismissed by the Board due to the death of the claimant should file a request for substitution with the VA office from which the claim originated.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1010(b).

 

A. S. CARACCIOLO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	C. Kim, 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.