Citation Nr: 21041966
Decision Date: 07/10/21	Archive Date: 07/10/21

DOCKET NO. 15-16 541
DATE: July 10, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for hepatitis C is dismissed.

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) prior to December 14, 2005 is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In June 2021 written correspondence, the Veteran's representative withdrew his appeal pending before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) explicitly and unambiguously.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. The criteria for withdrawal of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for hepatitis C have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105(b)(2), (d)(5) (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.22, 19.55 (2021).

2. The criteria for withdrawal of entitlement to TDIU prior to December 14, 2005 have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105(b)(2), (d)(5) (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.22, 19.55 (2021).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1971 to January 1972.

This matter comes before the Board on appeal from an October 2009 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This case was remanded in March 2019 for further development.

In July 2018, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of that hearing is of record.

Although an earlier effective date was assigned for the grant of TDIU in a March 2021 rating decision, the grant did not encompass the entire period on appeal. As a result, the issue remains before the Board and has been recharacterized accordingly. See Harper v. Wilkie, 30 Vet. App. 356 (2018); see also Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009).

Withdrawal

The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 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 An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision. 38 C.F.R. § 19.55. The withdrawal of an appeal must be either in writing or on the record at a hearing. Id. Withdrawal can be by the Veteran or by his representative. Id.

In June 2021 written correspondence, the Veteran's representative stated that "the Veteran hereby consents to the withdrawal of his appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals." The correspondence also stated that "the Veteran's VA Form 9 Appeal filed 05/13/2015 is withdrawn." 

The Board finds that the June 2021 written withdrawal is explicit and unambiguous, and it otherwise complies with regulatory requirements. There is only one appeal currently before the Board and the issues of entitlement to a higher evaluation for hepatitis C and entitlement to TDIU both stem from a substantive appeal received on May 13, 2015. Accordingly, the Board finds that the appeal was withdrawn in its entirety unambiguously and explicitly and, as the Board has no further jurisdiction to review this appeal, it is dismissed.

 

E. I. VELEZ

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Sandler, 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.