air force veteran and to produce a complaint alleging discrimination in the northern district of west virginia the district court wrongly dismissed his complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to exhaust his administrator the district court does have jurisdiction over mr harrison's claims and he was not required to exhaust remedies the facts of this case are important mr harrison is a pro se so his complaint needs to be construed really necessary information for him to submit his application in december of two thousand eight hundred he learned the formal application requirement submitted that application and that's when the claims process began  this a title seven claim and a would preclude support from jurisdictions where you're saying that section is the only avenue of review of the v a s decisions and processing of veterans claims and i emphasize decisions and processing because that's not what we have here mr harrison is not seeking a review of any decision of the v a or processing of his application he's saying i do because and that's because his claim is that he was discriminated against  even got to that point is that right exactly he was her benefit from submitting an application and beginning the claims process altogether because the v a withheld that necessary and patient and  sorry judge perry here so i have a question i guess i do understand what you're saying that this doesn't count as the processing of a claim because it's before he filed it but your entire merits position right is that there's all this stuff the v a has to do before someone even files a claim and so it seems to me that those two arguments are a little bit in tension with each other i mean the whole point of his claim is that before i even filed my benefits claim the v a violated all of its own regulations about what has to happen so it seems like the processing does in fact begin before the claim is filed i know you're counting you're referring to in the form of three i gave several avenues of potential federal question jurisdiction and one of them i point out that the v a does have its own right you lation saying the type of assistance that it has to afford it somebody who comes in to file a claim in that case it's not so much that mr harrison saying they and eighteen yes heretick yes sorry this is the last and on this point but so i thought that what he was asking for as relief was that he should have gotten benefits during that time when no one was giving him the right information from august two thousand and eighteen to august two thousand and nineteen that's what he wants benefits for that year or so has he states that in his complaint and it's also it's also in your opening brief and i'm not faulting you that's the gist of his claim he thinks he was entitle to benefits for that year he didn't get it he wants this court to deem him eligible for benefits for that year i don't see how that's not a benefits decision  know that argument a little bit in the reply to be honest i wasn't expecting to be a argument on five hundred and eleven jurisdiction because i see that as jurisdiction of v a decisions and this was just not a decision so i don't know that he can't go back and have the district work to compensate him with benefits he was never in titled still but that doesn't mean that under these legal theories he's presented alternative theories there's or however the evidence states out there but but and he wants us to do wot then i don't understand if his appeal is already pending what are we supposed to do he's got no he'll pending on whether or not he's eligible for benefits the case that he brought in the northern district of west virginia is just crimin is that claim before the board the discrimination claim you're on i haven't seen all the documents before the board it's my understanding that of order of review what i am going to do is just for appealing the denial so i don't know the basis of the tears i'm just confused i would have assumed his argument just i have to look i have not seen the board papers either but i would have assumed his argument as i was that's his argument before the board i should have gotten benefits and the reason i didn't is because nobody people discriminated against me instead of following the process for telling me how to file an application so i guess i am i am and if it's not before the board it seems like you're kind of waved i guess i just don't understand what we can do while this matter is pending somewhere else you're not making a case for this particular relief of whether he's eligible or whether he should there is a possibility that there are other damages there th complaint in the application process differently then judge harris he's got this discrimination case that is asserting there is discrimination and wrongdoing at the application stage before the application stage and then he  lives and that application is denied by the board that i believe is what he's appealing that whether or not he's eligible not this discrimination this wrong doing at the start of the application process so i see that as two different issues p two different jurisdictions and while they're relieved and the discrimination case may be affected by whether or not he was even eligible for these yet a benefit that i don't know that's the only really that he can get through discrimination towards that he's alleged no claim and process or decision by the v a at the time the wrongful conduct occurred and i would also note a whole the wrongful judgment of the district or on grounds that were not st presented in the district court and i think that's the general rule and i don't see that there is an exception to that rule here granted the v a did not have the opportunity to present its arguments and the district court but it is still the general rule this court may have to hold judgments on separate rule of law that you just described applies when it comes to our jurisdiction we're always able to examine our jurisdictions on appeal whenever you can of not really used but part of that may be the case and i still want to argue that until some form of discrimination is not being guided properly along the way with the v a have any jurisdiction over a claim whether you know equal protection due process discrimination claim like that it seems like everything got mixed up because the district where the magistrate judge in the disregard thought this was a title seven claim and you're conceding right that what happened below the that was incorrect this should not have been treated as a title seven claim whether it would be helpful for someone to take a look at what's going on in the v a and get like an actual record about what is going on here if we decide the issue we have to do it just on these briefs and so that's my question what i assumed we could do it either i just want to know could we do would be necessary for us all best if you look at the complaint i believe that plaintiff is seeking the nature of his allegations and the questions that it would require that this report to decide that clearly falls within the heartland a section five  would it make a difference if instead of seeking sort of individual relief this were more like reform litigation a class action where everyone came in saying we we don't want we're not challenging our benefits determinations we just think that the v a is doing this wrong and it needs to start giving people better information before the application process would that make a difference i understand that's not the case we have here but the courts seem a little bit more mixed up about what happens in a case like that i scheme he can raise his avenues to raise these claims there as well contemplates those are about that was about the lays in the claims review process that was about the time it takes pro better hands who submitted applications when it gets reviewed any gets or she gets a determination on those was the government in this case but i missed you my special thank you very much for your arguments we would typically come down and shake your hands obviously that's not possible given the circumstances but we are grateful to you nonetheless for your birthday able arguments here this afternoon so be safe and stay well thank you very much