Citation Nr: 21021474 Decision Date: 04/13/21 Archive Date: 04/13/21 DOCKET NO. 14-08 342 DATE: April 13, 2021 ORDER Prior to January 15, 2021, entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary sarcoidosis (hereafter referred to as a "pulmonary condition") is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In a March 2021 correspondence, the Veteran withdrew this appeal from the Board. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for withdrawal of the appeal for entitlement to an initial disability in excess of 30 percent, prior to January 15, 2021, for service-connected pulmonary condition are met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d); 38 C.F.R. § 20.205. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1972 to November 1979 and in the Navy Reserves from November 1979 to August 2009. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2011 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg, Florida. A March 2011 decision originally denied entitlement to service connection for COPD and awarded service connection for pulmonary sarcoidosis at 30 percent disabling, effective May 24, 2010. The Veteran timely appealed the denial of service connection and his initial rating. See April 26, 2011, Third Party Correspondence. In an October 2020 decision, the Board remanded these claims. For COPD, the Board noted that an opinion addressing whether it was caused or aggravated by the Veteran’s pulmonary sarcoidosis was needed. Because the Veteran’s sarcoidosis could be rated under Diagnostic Codes (DCs) 6604 or 6846, an updated examination was needed to assess the severity of the Veteran’s pulmonary sarcoidosis because pulmonary functioning test (PFT) results were absent from the record. An examiner also was asked if the Veteran’s last ten years using 10mg of Prednisone, rising to 30mg during a flare-up, constituted use of systemic high dose corticosteroids. In a February 2021 rating decision, VA awarded the Veteran service connection for COPD and rated it with his pulmonary sarcoidosis, assigning him a 100 percent rating effective January 15, 2021. Therefore, the issue of entitlement to service connection for COPD no longer is before the Board, so it herein will not be discussed. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (noting that a grant of service connection extinguishes appeals before the Board). Thus, the issue now is as it is framed on this decision’s first page. An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision by the appellant or by his or her authorized representative. 38 C.F.R. § 19.55(a). The withdrawal must be filed with the Board and include the name of the veteran, the applicable VA file number, and a statement that the appeal is withdrawn. If the appeal involves multiple issues, the withdrawal must specify that the appeal is withdrawn in its entirety or list the issue(s) withdrawn from the appeal. Appeal withdrawals should be filed with the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) until the appellant or representative filing the withdrawal receives notice that the appeal has been transferred to the Board. Thereafter, the withdrawal must be filed with the Board. Until the appeal is transferred to the Board, an appeal withdrawal is effective when received by the AOJ. Thereafter, it is not effective until received by the Board. A withdrawal received by the Board after the Board issues a final decision under Rule 1100(a) (§20.1100(a) of this chapter) will not be effective. Id. at (b)(1)–(3). Withdrawal of an appeal will be deemed a withdrawal of the Notice of Disagreement (NOD) and, if filed, the Substantive Appeal (VA Form 9), as to all issues to which the withdrawal applies. Withdrawal does not preclude filing a new NOD and, after a Statement of the Case is issued, a new VA Form 9, as to any issue withdrawn, provided such filings would be timely under these rules if the appeal withdrawn had never been filed. Id. at (c). In a March 15, 2021, Appeals Satisfaction Notice, the Veteran stated satisfaction with VA’s most recent award of benefits and that he was seeking to withdrawal all remaining issues before the Board. The Notice contains the Veteran’s name, file number, signature, and date. Thus, the Board finds that the Notice operates as an effective withdrawal of the remaining issue before the Board. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.55(b). Therefore, this withdrawal removes from the Board’s consideration the valid Form 9 previously filed in association with this appeal, precluding it from adjudicating this claim. Thus, the appeal is dismissed. See id. at (c). (SIGNATURE ON NEXT PAGE) JONATHAN B. KRAMER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Trevor T. Bernard, 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.