Citation Nr: 21014352 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-38 414 DATE: March 11, 2021 REMANDED The claim seeking entitlement to an attorney fee of 20 percent of past-due benefits awarded in a May 2015 rating decision is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 2000 to May 2013. The appellant is the Veteran’s attorney representative. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) denied entitlement to attorney fees in a May 2019 decision. The appellant appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (“CAVC” or “the Court”) and a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) was filed. In September 2020, the CAVC issued an order which vacated the Board’s May 2019 decision and remanded the appellant’s appeal for action consistent with the JMR. Claims for payment of attorney fees from past-due benefits are considered “simultaneously contested claims” because they involve questions pertaining to the allocation of available benefits between two or more parties. See, e.g., Cornell v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 297, 305-06 (2016). The law includes special requirements for such claims. See 38 U.S.C. § 7105A; 38 C.F.R. § 19.100-19.102; see also 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.500-20.504. Under applicable regulations, when a VA Form 9 substantive appeal is filed in a simultaneously contested claim, all interested parties are to be specifically notified of the contents of the substantive appeal to the extent that it contains information which could directly affect the payment or potential payment of the benefit which is the subject of the contested claim. 38 C.F.R. § 19.102. In the present case, the record does not contain the notification sent to the Veteran of the contents of the appellant’s August 2017 VA Form 9. Consequently, the Veteran, who is an interested party, must be given the contents of the appellant’s August 2017 VA Form 9 before any decision can be made on the merits of the appeal. Accordingly, the Board finds that a remand is necessary in order to ensure full compliance with the contested claims procedures pursuant to 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.100-02, 20.500-04, to include providing the substituted claimant with the contents of the appellant’s August 2017 VA Form 9. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Ensure full compliance with the contested claims procedures outlined in 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.100-02, 20.500-04. Specifically, ensure that the Veteran is provided with the contents of the appellant’s August 2017 VA Form 9. A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Griffin, 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.