Citation Nr: 21025233 Decision Date: 04/27/21 Archive Date: 04/27/21 DOCKET NO. 09-02 141 DATE: April 27, 2021 ORDER The appeal with respect to the Veteran’s entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for right upper extremity radiculopathy is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT In March 2021, prior to the promulgation of an appellate decision, the Board received notification from the Veteran, through his authorized representative, that a withdrawal of this appeal was requested. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for withdrawal of an appeal by the Veteran and/or his authorized representative have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from November 1990 to July 1991, and from January 2003 to January 2005, to include service in Southwest Asia. He also had many years of service in the Army National Guard, to include a period of active duty for training from June to December 1964. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2007 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Huntington, West Virginia. The RO, in pertinent part, granted service connection and a 0 (zero) percent (noncompensable) rating for chronic neck pain with radiculopathy, effective April 20, 2006. In July 2013, the Board awarded an initial 10 percent disability rating for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity. The Veteran appealed the Board’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In December 2014, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Partial Remand filed by the parties to the appeal (the Veteran, through an attorney, and representatives from VA General Counsel), thereby vacating the Board’s decision insofar as it denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity and remanding that matter for readjudication. In June 2016, after remanding the matter for additional development, the Board awarded an initial 20 percent rating for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity prior to July 20, 2015 and denied a rating in excess of 10 percent thereafter. The Veteran appealed the Board’s decision to the Court. In a December 2017 memorandum decision, the Court set aside the Board’s June 2016 decision, in part, remanding to the Board the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity from July 20, 2015, for readjudication consistent with the Court’s decision. In September 2018, the Board expanded the Veteran’s appeal to include the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) as part and parcel of the appeal for a higher initial rating for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453 (2009). The Board awarded an initial 20 percent rating for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity from July 20, 2015 and remanded the TDIU issue for further development. The Veteran appealed the Board’s September 2018 decision to the Court. In a September 2020 memorandum decision, the Court set aside the Board’s September 2018 decision insofar as the Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right upper extremity from July 20, 2015, and remanded the matter to the Board for readjudication consistent with the Court’s decision. By an October 2020 decision, the Board awarded entitlement to a TDIU for the entire period on appeal, beginning April 20, 2006. Dismissal The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. See 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. Only an appellant, or an appellant’s authorized representative, may withdraw an appeal. Id. Appeal withdrawals must include the name of the veteran, the name of the claimant or appellant if other than the veteran (e.g., a veteran’s survivor, a guardian, or a fiduciary appointed to receive VA benefits on an individual’s behalf), 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. Id. By correspondence received in March 2021, prior to the promulgation of an appellate decision, the Veteran indicated that he wished to withdraw the present appeal. The correspondence included his name and his VA file number. Under the circumstances, the Board finds that the requirements for a proper withdrawal have been satisfied. As the Veteran has withdrawn his appeal, there remain no allegations of error of fact or law for appellate consideration. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the appeal and the appeal must be dismissed. DAVID A. BRENNINGMEYER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board F. Lanton, 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.