Citation Nr: 24032002
Decision Date: 10/18/24	Archive Date: 10/18/24

DOCKET NO. 14-15 041
DATE: October 18, 2024

ORDER

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed as moot.

FINDING OF FACT

In a July 2024 rating decision, a Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office granted entitlement to a TDIU, effective October 1, 2017.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The appeal for entitlement to a TDIU is rendered moot by the July 2024 rating decision awarding a TDIU and the appeal is therefore dismissed.  38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105(d); 38 C.F.R. § 20.104(c).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1970 to January 1972.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on an appeal from a November 2011 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) and the April 2014 Supplemental Statement of the Case, which specifically identifies entitlement to a TDIU as an issue on appeal.  The claim was most recently remanded by the Board in October 2022 for submission to the Director of Compensation Service for consideration of entitlement to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.  In a July 2024 rating decision, the RO, in part, granted entitlement to a TDIU, which is considered a full grant of the benefits on appeal for this claim.  A.B. v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35 (1993).

The Board notes that a June 2024 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, Type II, hypertension, diabetic nephropathy, and left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy prior to and from May 15, 2024.  However, the claims reflected in the SSOC were not remanded by the Board in October 2022, and do not appear to be the subject of a separate pending appeal.  Therefore, the SSOC appears to have been issued by the AOJ in error.

In October 2024, the Veteran's representative submitted a Motion to Withdraw Appeal on the basis that the Veteran is satisfied with the RO's grant of benefits and that he wishes "to withdraw all appeals before the Board of Veterans' Appeals, specifically docket number 14-15 041."  However, for the reasons set forth below, the Board dismisses the appeal as moot.

Entitlement to a TDIU

As noted above, an April 2014 Supplemental Statement of the Case denied entitlement to a TDIU.  The claim was remanded by the Board several times, most recently in October 2022 for submission to the Director of Compensation Service for consideration of entitlement to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.  In July 2024, while the claim was pending on remand, the RO granted entitlement to a TDIU, effective October 1, 2017.

Given that a TDIU was granted in the July 2024 rating decision, the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is rendered moot and must be dismissed on the basis that the relief sought has already been granted.  See 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104, 7105(d)(5); 38 C.F.R. § 20.104(c).

.

 

 

S. B. MAYS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	B. Farrell, 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.