Citation Nr: 21040707 Decision Date: 07/06/21 Archive Date: 07/06/21 DOCKET NO. 19-07 384 DATE: July 6, 2021 ORDER The Veteran's legacy appeal for entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent prior to April 22, 2019, and in excess of 50 percent thereafter for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with major depressive disorder is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT On May 21, 2019, the Veteran opted into a review under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) by submitting VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement (NOD)) with regard to his claim for an increased rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder, within 60 days of the issuance of the May 15, 2019, Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). CONCLUSION OF LAW The Board lacks jurisdiction to consider the Veteran's legacy appeal. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.2. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION Preliminary Matters The Veteran had honorable active duty service with the United States Army from February 1964 to February 1967. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2018 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). During the pendency of the appeal, in an April 2019 rating decision, the RO increased the disability rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder to 50 percent, effective April 22, 2019. As this award does not represent a total grant of benefits sought on appeal, the claim remains before the Board. AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35 (1993). In May 2021, the Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the Veteran's electronic claims file. DISMISSAL The Veteran's legacy appeal for entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent prior to April 22, 2019, and in excess of 50 percent thereafter for PTSD with major depressive disorder is dismissed. In this case, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 10182 (NOD) after the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) issued a SSOC on May 15, 2019, which was received by VA on May 21, 2019. In the NOD, the Veteran requested the Hearing lane, indicating that he wanted a Board hearing and the opportunity to submit any additional evidence in support of the appeal within 90 days after the hearing. As this form was received within 60 days of the SSOC, the Veteran opted into the new modernized appeals review system for the issue of an increased evaluation for PTSD with major depressive disorder. 38 C.F.R. § 19.2(d). In an August 2021 notice, the Board acknowledged the Veteran's appeal request and informed him that the appeal had been placed on the Hearing docket. The Veteran's AMA opt-in was valid, timely, and must be honored. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 19.2, 19.52. The Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the Veteran's appeal under the legacy appeals system as doing so would deprive him of due process under law. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the Veteran's legacy appeal and it is dismissed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.2. The Veteran's appeal has been docketed in the Board's modernized appeals system in accordance with the Veteran's May 2019 election on the timely filed VA Form 10182. As such, it will be adjudicated in a separate AMA decision as appropriate. B. MULLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Y. MacDonald, 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.