Paralyzed Veterans of Am. v. Sec'y of Veterans Affairs

345 F.3d 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2003) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55422

Description

Federal Circuit Rejects Challenge to All But One Regulation Implementing Veterans Claims Assistance Act

Abstract

The Federal Circuit held that 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(b)(1) was invalid because it imposed on veterans’ benefits claimants an arbitrary new deadline that was not a reasonable exercise of the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Petitioner veterans’ service organizations challenged the validity of various VA regulations implementing the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000, which clarified VA’s duty to assist claimants. Among other provisions, the Act no longer required that a claimant establish a well-grounded claim before the VA provided assistance. Petitioners claimed that the regulations at issue were arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion; lacked a statutory basis; and were inconsistent with congressional intent. The court held that 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(b)(1), which required claimants to respond to VA’s request for necessary information and evidence within thirty days, was an unreasonable exercise of VA’s discretion. The regulation required the VA, if a claimant had not responded to its request within thirty days, to decide the claim on the basis of all the information and evidence in the file before the statutory one-year period to submit additional evidence expires. The court found that the plain language of the statute gave claimants one year to submit the requested evidence. However, the court rejected petitioners’ challenge to several other regulations, including ones on medical examinations for veterans seeking to reopen claims, notification to claimants of VA’s inability to obtain records, “new and material” evidence, and when medical examinations are necessary.

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Attorney Information
Docket Date
2003-09-22 00:00:00+00:00

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