Hamilton v. Brown

39 F.3d 1574 (Fed. Cir.1994) ; Clearinghouse Number: 50633

Description

Veterans Who Filed Initial Notices of Disagreement with VA Denials Before 1988 Are Not Entitled to Court of Veterans Appeals Hearings

Abstract

The Federal Circuit has held that appellant veterans, who filed multiple Notices of Disagreement (NODs), are not entitled to review of their claims in the Court of Veterans Appeals (CVA). NODs are the vehicle by which veterans announce to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) their intention to appeal administratively the adverse initial determinations on their claims. Effective September 1, 1989, Congress established CVA to provide for the first time a judicial appeals process for veterans benefits matters. Because of the large numbers of pending administrative appeals and concern that CVA would be overwhelmed initially, Congress limited CVA jurisdiction to those matters in which an NOD had been filed on or after November 18, 1988. Each of the appellants had filed both pre- and post-1988 NODs with respect to a particular benefits claim that had been pending in the administrative review process before 1988. Appellants claimed that they were entitled to CVA review of their claims because their most recent NODs had been filed after the 1988 deadline. CVA consolidated appellants’ appeals and held that the NOD referred to in section 402 of Veteran’s Judicial Review Act, 31 U.S.C. § 7105, is the NOD that initiates the administrative appeal for a particular claim. Since the NODs relied upon by appellants to establish CVA jurisdiction had initially been filed before the 1988 deadline, the court held that it had no jurisdiction to hear appellants’ claims. Affirming, the Federal Circuit held that the single-NOD rule is supported by, or at least not inconsistent with, the plain language of the statute and its legislative history.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Appellant represented by Gershon Ratner, National Veterans Legal Services Project, 2001 S St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 265-8305.
Docket Date
1994-11-08 00:00:00+00:00

Files

No files available.

Filed under: