Citation Nr: 21011058 Decision Date: 02/26/21 Archive Date: 02/26/21 DOCKET NO. 14-40 660 DATE: February 26, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right elbow disability is dismissed as moot. FINDING OF FACT There are currently no claims pending before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) for appellate disposition. CONCLUSION OF LAW The appeal on the merits of the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for a right elbow disability is moot by virtue of a December 2020 rating decision granting service connection for a right elbow disability and there remains no matter in controversy for which the Board has jurisdiction. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104(a), 7105(d)(5) (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1952 to July 1954. In February 2021, the Veteran was mailed notice that an appeal had returned to the Board’s active docket. The Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS), the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) internal case tracking system, indicates that the Veteran’s appeal seeking service connection for a right elbow disability remains pending before the Board. However, a review of the electronic claims file establishes that the Veteran was granted entitlement to service connection for this disability in a December 2020 rating decision, which constitutes a complete grant of the benefits sought on appeal. Cf. AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35 (1993). Under 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d)(5) (2018), the Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. The Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for a right elbow disability has already been granted in full in the December 2020 rating decision, so there is no longer any pending adverse determination for the Board to adjudicate with respect to the service connection claim. See Shoen v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 456, 457 (1994). The Board has fully reviewed the electronic claims file and finds no other claims presently before the Board under the legacy appeals system or the modernized appeals system. Aside from the right elbow disability, a December 2019 Board decision remanded claims seeking entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine and bilateral knee disabilities, as well as increased ratings for the Veteran’s service-connected depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and tinnitus. Service connection for a lumbar spine disability was granted in a July 2020 rating decision, constituting a complete grant of the benefits sought on appeal. As directed in Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238 (1999), a Statement of the Case was issued in September 2020 regarding the Veteran’s claim seeking an increased rating for his service-connected tinnitus. The Veteran did not file a timely legacy Substantive Appeal or a timely request to opt into the modernized appeals system. Consequently, this claim became final. A December 2020 Supplemental Statement of the Case continued to deny the Veteran’s appeal seeking service connection for a bilateral knee disability, as well as increased ratings for his service-connected depression and TBI. In January 2021, the Veteran requested to withdraw these claims from the legacy appeals system and have them readjudicated in the modernized appeals system under the Higher-Level Review lane. The claims were again denied in a January 2021 Higher-Level Review rating decision. The Veteran still has time to file another review option as to these claims; however, they are not currently within the Board’s jurisdiction. As noted above, the appeal on the merits of the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for a right elbow disability is moot by virtue of the prior grant of service connection for a right elbow disability, and must be dismissed. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). Neither the Veteran nor his attorney have identified any claims within the Board’s appellate jurisdiction at this time, and the Board’s independent review of the electronic claims file reveals no such claims. Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Galante 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.