In the past year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
(Federal Circuit) continued to define boundaries for the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans
Court). These boundaries align more closely with congressional intent, especially
with regard to the jurisdiction of the Veterans Court and the internal operations
of the agency.
This Area Summary discusses eight major areas in which the Federal Circuit
articulated important changes in veterans law. First, the Federal Circuit
revisited the important and veteran-friendly “benefit of the doubt” rule in Lynch
and modified it. In Lynch, the Court analyzed the term “approximate balance”
and instructed VA to liberally consider evidence and apply the benefit of the
doubt rule even where the evidence is not in exact equipoise. Second, the Federal
Circuit limited the Veterans Court’s power to fact-find and narrowed its power
to find prejudicial error in Tadlock. Third, in Anania, the Court strengthened
the “mailbox” rule by finding that the claimant’s, or advocate’s, own affidavit
sufficiently proved proper mailing. Fourth, the Court broadened the constructive possession rules relating to VA-contracted medical reports in Euzebio. Fifth, the
Federal Circuit looked to principles of equity in Arellano and Taylor to
determine whether tolling or estoppel may be invoked when the question relates
to the effective date for the grant of VA benefits. Sixth, the Court clarified effective
date rules in Kisor, George, Ortiz, and Buffington. Seventh, in Military-
Veterans Advocacy, the Federal Circuit overturned three regulations
promulgated under the new Appeals Modernization Act, each related to
supplemental claims—a new avenue for veterans seeking to reopen earlier
decisions. Finally, in Smith, the Court continued to weigh in on attorney’s fees,
an important issue for veterans and their advocates