comes before the Board of Veterans ' Appeals ( Board ) on appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) Regional Office ( RO ) in St . Petersburg , Florida . The Board notes that in November 2012 , the Veteran initially requested a hearing . At the time , the Veteran ' s representative , the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs ( FDVA ) requested that if the Veteran did not receive a hearing , the claims file should be returned to the FDVA so it might prepare an informal hearing presentation . In December 2015 , the Veteran retained a private lawyer , Joseph R . Moore . In March 2016 , Mr . Moore cancelled the Veteran ' s hearing request .