United States Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit ______________________

EUGENIA MOTE,

Claimant-Appellant

v.

ROBERT WILKIE, SECRETARY OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS,

Respondent-Appellee

______________________

2019-2367

______________________

Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for 

Veterans Claims in No. 16-2506, Senior Judge Mary J. 

Schoelen.

______________________

Decided: September 28, 2020

______________________

CHARLES MCCLOUD, Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, DC, argued for claimant-appellant. Also represented by STEPHEN RABER, LIAM JAMES MONTGOMERY; 

JOHN AUBREY CHANDLER, ELIZABETH VRANICAR TANIS, Atlanta, GA. 

 ASHLEY AKERS, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil 

Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for respondent-appellee. Also represented 

by ETHAN P. DAVIS, MARTIN F. HOCKEY, JR., ROBERT 

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2 MOTE v. WILKIE

EDWARD KIRSCHMAN, JR.; BRIAN D. GRIFFIN, JONATHAN 

KRISCH, Office of General Counsel, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC. 

 ______________________

Before PROST, Chief Judge, MOORE and STOLL, Circuit 

Judges.

PROST, Chief Judge.

Mrs. Eugenia Mote appeals from the Court of Appeals 

for Veterans Claims’ (“Veterans Court”) dismissal of her 

mandamus petition alleging unreasonable delay by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) in resolving her benefits claim.

Mrs. Mote has been here before, under similar circumstances. She was one of nine consolidated appellants in 

Martin v. O’Rourke, 891 F.3d 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2018), where 

we replaced the Veterans Court’s test for evaluating an unreasonable-delay mandamus petition with the standard articulated in Telecommunications Research & Action Center 

v. FCC, 750 F.2d 70 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (“TRAC”). We remanded Mrs. Mote’s individual case to the Veterans Court 

to conduct a TRAC analysis in the first instance. But on 

remand, the Veterans Court failed to conduct such an analysis. We therefore remand, again, for it to do so.

BACKGROUND

I

Mrs. Mote is the widow of veteran Wayne Gary Mote, 

who honorably served in the United States Air Force from 

February 1961 to May 1965. Mr. Mote claimed to have participated in two covert missions to Da Nang, Vietnam, 

where Agent Orange had been deployed. After leaving the 

service, Mr. Mote developed coronary artery disease and 

lung cancer.

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MOTE v. WILKIE 3

In November 2010, Mr. Mote filed a disability claim for 

ischemic heart disease based on exposure to Agent Orange

during his alleged missions to Vietnam. The VA denied his 

claim in November 2012. In January 2013, Mr. Mote filed 

his Notice of Disagreement with that denial, but he passed 

away just a few months later. Mrs. Mote thereafter substituted for his claim and also filed a dependency-and-indemnity compensation (“DIC”) claim. The VA denied Mrs. 

Mote’s DIC claim in January 2015, and Mrs. Mote filed her 

Notice of Disagreement with that denial in November 

2015. 

The VA issued its Statement of the Case in May 2016. 

The following month, Mrs. Mote filed her substantive appeal with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (“Board”) and requested an in-person Board hearing at her local VA 

regional office (a so-called Travel Board hearing).

In September 2016, Mrs. Mote petitioned the Veterans 

Court for a writ of mandamus under the All Writs Act, 

28 U.S.C. § 1651, alleging unreasonable delay in her case. 

The Veterans Court denied the petition, applying the 

standard outlined in that court’s decision Costanza v. West, 

12 Vet. App. 133 (1999), which asked whether the complained-of delay was “so extraordinary, given the demands 

[on] and resources of the Secretary, that the delay amounts 

to an arbitrary refusal to act.” See J.A. 198 (citing Costanza, 12 Vet. App. at 134). The Veterans Court found that

Mrs. Mote’s complained-of delay failed to meet that standard. It also acknowledged the government’s position that, 

because Mrs. Mote requested a Travel Board hearing and 

maintained that request, the Board could not issue a decision until after the hearing. J.A. 197. According to the 

government, due to limited Board personnel and resources, 

it “could not predict how long” Mrs. Mote might have to 

wait for her hearing. See J.A. 197.

Mrs. Mote appealed to this court. We consolidated her 

appeal with that of eight other individual appellants and 

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4 MOTE v. WILKIE

held, in Martin, that the Veterans Court should use the 

TRAC standard to evaluate unreasonable-delay mandamus petitions (as opposed to the Costanza standard it previously used). Martin, 891 F.3d at 1344–48. We remanded 

Mrs. Mote’s case to the Veterans Court “for reconsideration 

under the TRAC standard.” Id. at 1349.

II

In November 2018, following this court’s July 2018 

mandate, Mrs. Mote filed with the Veterans Court an 

amended mandamus petition—largely identical to the previous, but further requesting a “reasoned decision” from 

the Board (to be issued within 45 days of the court’s order) 

and periodic progress reports until the requested decision’s

issuance. J.A. 68; see J.A. 50–70.

The government responded to Mrs. Mote’s petition on 

March 8, 2019. Incidentally, that very same day the Board 

finally scheduled her requested Travel Board hearing, setting it for May 13, 2019—just over two months out.

Before the scheduled hearing occurred, however, the 

Veterans Court dismissed Mrs. Mote’s mandamus petition

in a single-judge order. Mote v. Wilkie, No. 16-2506, 2019 

WL 1599447 (Vet. App. Apr. 16, 2019). The court began by 

recounting the case’s procedural history, including this 

court’s remand for reconsideration under the TRAC standard. But after setting forth that standard, the court did not 

apply or otherwise engage with it. Instead, the court 

dwelled on the recently scheduled (yet still-pending) hearing, reasoning: “Because [Mrs. Mote] has not yet participated in her scheduled Board hearing, her request for a 

writ of mandamus for the Board to issue a decision concerning her claims is premature.” Id. at *2.1 The court did not 

1 The Veterans Court also declined to entertain Mrs. 

Mote’s requests to (1) generally hold unconstitutional or invalidate “any statute, regulation, or practice” contributing 

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MOTE v. WILKIE 5

separately address the possibility of granting Mrs. Mote’s 

request for progress reports pending the requested Board 

decision. Mrs. Mote moved for a panel decision on May 2, 

2019.

Meanwhile, the Travel Board hearing occurred as 

scheduled on May 13, 2019, during which Mrs. Mote presented argument and evidence concerning her late husband’s alleged covert missions to Vietnam. See J.A. 209–

36.

On July 15, 2019, the Veterans Court ruled on Mrs. 

Mote’s motion for a panel decision. J.A. 2. Although the 

single-judge order had dismissed Mrs. Mote’s petition 

mainly because her hearing had not yet occurred, the 

panel—two months after the hearing—retained that order 

as the decision of the Veterans Court. J.A. 2. The Veterans 

Court entered its final judgment on August 6, 2019, and 

Mrs. Mote again appealed to this court.

Eight days after the Veterans Court’s final judgment, 

the Board took up Mrs. Mote’s case but remanded to a VA 

regional office for further factual development. See 

J.A. 240–44.

DISCUSSION

This court has limited jurisdiction to review Veterans 

Court decisions. We “may not review (A) a challenge to a 

factual determination, or (B) a challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case.” 

to allegedly unreasonable delay; and (2) provide systemic 

(as opposed to individualized) relief from such delay. Mote, 

2019 WL 1599447, at *3; see Martin, 891 F.3d at 1348 

(characterizing similar requests as “ask[ing] the Veterans 

Court to broadly declare that the entire process is unconstitutional”). Mrs. Mote has not challenged these rulings 

on appeal.

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6 MOTE v. WILKIE

38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). This court does, however, have jurisdiction to “decide all relevant questions of law, including 

interpreting constitutional and statutory provisions.” Id. 

§ 7292(d)(1). 

Mrs. Mote argues that by failing to apply TRAC, the 

Veterans Court applied an improper legal standard in deciding her mandamus petition. The proper legal standard 

for the Veterans Court to use in deciding mandamus petitions is an issue within this court’s jurisdiction. See Martin, 891 F.3d at 1343 n.5, 1344–48 (addressing, and 

articulating, the proper legal standard for the Veterans 

Court to use in deciding unreasonable-delay mandamus petitions); see also Beasley v. Shinseki, 709 F.3d 1154, 1158 

(Fed. Cir. 2013) (“This court has jurisdiction to review the 

[Veterans Court’s] decision whether to grant a mandamus 

petition that raises a non-frivolous legal question . . . .”); 

Lamb v. Principi, 284 F.3d 1378, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2002) 

(“There is no indication . . . that in . . . limiting our jurisdiction, Congress intended to insulate from judicial review 

[the Veterans Court’s] ruling on mandamus petitions.”).

While the government does not dispute our statutory 

jurisdiction to address the proper legal standard, it argues

that the Board’s post-appeal remand mooted this case, thus 

depriving this court of constitutional jurisdiction. We address this argument first. After disposing of it, we address

the merits of Mrs. Mote’s challenge to the legal standard 

the Veterans Court applied in deciding her mandamus petition, as well as her constitutional due process challenge.

I

Article III of the Constitution limits federal courts to 

deciding “Cases” and “Controversies.” U.S. CONST. art. III, 

§ 2; Rucho v. Common Cause, 139 S. Ct. 2484, 2493 (2019). 

A case that becomes moot is no longer a “Case” or “Controversy” for Article III purposes. Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., 

568 U.S. 85, 91 (2013). And a case becomes moot when a 

claimant receives all her requested relief. See, e.g., Monk 

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MOTE v. WILKIE 7

v. Shulkin, 855 F.3d 1312, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2017); accord 

Cierco v. Mnuchin, 857 F.3d 407, 410 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (“Appellants received full relief on their first claim. Therefore, 

we agree that Appellants’ first claim for relief is moot.”); 

Chen v. Allstate Ins. Co., 819 F.3d 1136, 1144 (9th Cir. 

2016) (“[A] lawsuit—or an individual claim—becomes moot 

when a plaintiff actually receives all of the relief he or she 

could receive on the claim through further litigation.”).

The government argues that the Board’s remand for 

further factual development satisfied Mrs. Mote’s request

for a reasoned “decision,” thus mooting this case. We disagree.

The Board’s jurisdictional statute references Board

“decisions,” 38 U.S.C. § 7104, and the Veterans Court’s jurisdictional statute grants it authority to review Board “decisions,” id. § 7252(a). Our precedent holds that a Board 

“decision” in this context does not mean a mere remand. 

Kirkpatrick v. Nicholson, 417 F.3d 1361, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 

2005) (“Our case law and [§] 7104(d)(2) define a Board decision as including an order granting appropriate relief or 

denying relief. The Board’s remand in this case [for additional medical examinations] contains no order granting or 

denying relief.”);2 id. at 1365 (agreeing with the government “that the Board’s remand in this case was not a decision within the meaning of [§] 7252(a)”). 

The government acknowledges as much. See Appellee’s 

Br. 15 n.5. Still, it argues that Mrs. Mote’s failure to “caveat” her request means that the Board’s remand—a decision, of sorts—gave her what she requested. Given our 

precedent, however, we do not believe Mrs. Mote had to 

2 Section 7104(d)(2) has since been redesignated as 

§ 7104(d)(3). Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-55, sec. 2(w)(2)(B), 

131 Stat. 1105, 1114. 

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8 MOTE v. WILKIE

caveat her request for a “decision” to convey that a remand 

alone would not suffice; rather, the far more reasonable interpretation of her request for a Board “decision” was a 

grant or denial of benefits. See Tyrues v. Shinseki, 732 F.3d 

1351, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (“A decision of the Board is an 

order that either grants or denies benefits sought by the

veteran.”); Kirkpatrick, 417 F.3d at 1364; Maggitt v. West, 

202 F.3d 1370, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (“A ‘decision’ of the 

Board . . . is the decision with respect to the benefit sought 

by the veteran: those benefits are either granted . . . or they 

are denied.”).

Further, even if by requesting a “decision” Mrs. Mote 

left any doubt as to what she sought, her particular circumstances would lay that doubt to rest. Caveat or not, after 

eight years,3 a mandamus petition, and an appeal to this 

court (resulting in a remand to the Veterans Court), followed by another mandamus petition, it seems implausible 

that a remand was all her petition contemplated when requesting a “decision” from the Board.

The petition also sought progress reports pending the 

requested decision. J.A. 68. Because we conclude that 

Mrs. Mote has not received her requested decision, we conclude that her request for progress reports is not moot.4 

3 From the filing of Mr. Mote’s disability claim (November 2010) to the filing of the petition at issue here (November 2018). Now approaching ten years.

4 The government recognizes that Mrs. Mote’s petition further sought an order finding that Mrs. Mote’s rights 

had been violated. Appellee’s Br. 13 (citing J.A. 68). Because we conclude that this case is not moot (given two remaining live requests—a Board decision and progress 

reports), we need not reach the government’s argument as 

to whether Mrs. Mote’s request for such an order would, by 

itself, be sufficient “to carry this litigation forward,” see id.

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MOTE v. WILKIE 9

We do not mean to suggest, however, that the Board’s 

remand was improper. Indeed, although Mrs. Mote maintains that it was unnecessary, Oral Arg. at 6:24–40, she 

does not dispute that her requested relief allowed for the 

possibility of a remand en route to an ultimate Board decision, id. at 3:23–46.5 Her contention is that the Veterans 

Court could, and should, have done more to ensure the case 

moved along—for example, by imposing deadlines both to 

complete any remand proceedings and to issue a decision 

thereafter, or at least by requiring progress reports until 

the Board issued a decision. Id. at 3:46–4:48; see Reply 

Br. 7. 

In light of the above, it is clear that the Board’s remand 

did not provide all of the relief Mrs. Mote requested, that a 

case or controversy remains, and that we may adjudicate 

it. 

II

We turn now to the merits. Mrs. Mote argues that the 

Veterans Court legally erred by failing to conduct the 

TRAC analysis that Martin requires. The government has 

two responses—first, that the Veterans Court did not need 

to conduct that analysis here; and second, that the court 

actually did so. We address these in turn. We lastly address Mrs. Mote’s constitutional due process challenge.

A

The Supreme Court in Cheney articulated three conditions that must be satisfied before a court may grant the 

extraordinary writ of mandamus: (1) the party seeking the 

writ must have “no other adequate means” to obtain the 

desired relief; (2) the party’s right to the writ must be “clear 

and indisputable”; and (3) even if these first two conditions 

5 No. 19-2367, http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/oral-argument-recordings (“Oral Arg.”).

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10 MOTE v. WILKIE

are met, “the issuing court, in the exercise of its discretion, 

must be satisfied that the writ is appropriate under the circumstances.” Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Ct. for D.C., 542 U.S. 

367, 380–81 (2004) (cleaned up). 

Further, the D.C. Circuit in TRAC set forth a six-factor 

standard useful for evaluating mandamus petitions alleging unreasonable agency delay: (1) the time agencies take 

to make decisions must be governed by a “rule of reason”; 

(2) where Congress has provided a timetable or other indication of the speed with which it expects the agency to proceed in the enabling statute, that statutory scheme may 

supply content for this rule of reason; (3) delays that might 

be reasonable in the sphere of economic regulation are less 

tolerable when human health and welfare are at stake; 

(4) the court should consider the effect of expediting delayed action on agency activities of a higher or competing 

priority; (5) the court should also take into account the nature and extent of the interests prejudiced by delay; and 

(6) the court need not “find any impropriety lurking behind 

agency lassitude” in order to hold that agency action is unreasonably delayed. 750 F.2d at 80.

In Martin, this court adopted the TRAC standard as 

the appropriate standard for the Veterans Court to use in 

evaluating mandamus petitions alleging unreasonable delay by the VA. Martin, 891 F.3d at 1348. While we 

acknowledged that “all three [Cheney] requirements must 

be demonstrated for mandamus to issue,” id. at 1343 n.5, 

we remanded this case specifically “for reconsideration under the TRAC standard,” id. at 1349.

Yet, now back before this court, the government contends that in dismissing Mrs. Mote’s petition, the Veterans 

Court did not have to consider the TRAC standard after all. 

The government seizes on Cheney’s third factor—whether 

a writ is “appropriate under the circumstances”—and argues that the Veterans Court found this factor not met, 

thus obviating the need to engage with the TRAC factors 

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MOTE v. WILKIE 11

before dismissing the mandamus petition. See Appellee’s 

Br. 21, 25–27. This is not the correct approach. Indeed, 

the Veterans Court did not even purport to adopt this approach—after appearing once, in the opinion’s legal-standard section, the Cheney factors were not to be seen again. 

See Mote, 2019 WL 1599447, at *2–3. But setting that 

aside, we remain unconvinced as to the approach’s general 

soundness.

Cheney’s third factor has been described as a “relatively broad and amorphous totality of the circumstances 

consideration.” In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 756 F.3d 

754, 762 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (Kavanaugh, J.). Cheney itself 

describes the factor as one appropriately taken up after 

consideration of the more-specific “no other adequate 

means” and “clear and indisputable right” factors: “Third, 

even if the first two prerequisites have been met, the issuing 

court, in the exercise of its discretion, must be satisfied that 

the writ is appropriate under the circumstances.” 542 U.S.

at 381 (emphasis added). This phrasing suggests that the 

third factor is intended more as a final check on granting 

the writ than as an amorphously discretionary means of 

denying it, without consulting the other two factors. This 

is particularly so given that, as an “extraordinary” remedy, 

it will usually not be hard to find some reason counseling

against a writ. We therefore seriously doubt that the Court 

intended the analysis to be conducted in the way the government suggests.

We reach a similar conclusion regarding the TRAC factors. These specific factors have emerged over time as having particular relevance to petitions alleging unreasonable 

agency delay. And, as we held in Martin, the Veterans 

Court should consider them in this context. 891 F.3d at 

1344 (“[W]e agree . . . that TRAC provides a more appropriate framework for analyzing claims of unreasonable delay.”); id. at 1345 (“[T]he six TRAC factors serve as a useful 

starting point for the Veterans Court to analyze mandamus 

petitions based on unreasonable delay in the VA’s 

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12 MOTE v. WILKIE

processing of benefits claims and appeals.”); id. at 1349 

(“[W]e hold that the Veterans Court should look to the 

TRAC factors as guidance when evaluating mandamus petitions based on unreasonable delay in the VA’s adjudication of benefits claims.”). While the government maintains 

that TRAC doesn’t “supplant the entire mandamus analysis” and that satisfying the third Cheney factor remains 

necessary before granting mandamus, Appellee’s Br. 25–

26, we readily accept as much (at least for argument’s 

sake)—yet still conclude that the TRAC factors should be 

considered before dismissing or otherwise denying mandamus petitions alleging unreasonable agency delay.6 Here, 

they weren’t considered at all. 

Even apart from the analytical error of failing to apply 

TRAC, the government’s argument based on Cheney’s third 

6 Courts that have discussed the interplay among 

the TRAC factors and the more-traditional mandamus requirements (including those articulated in Cheney) have 

been inconclusive. See Am. Hosp. Ass’n v. Burwell, 812 

F.3d 183, 189–90 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (explaining that, 

“[b]ecause [the TRAC] factors function not as a hard and 

fast set of required elements, but rather as useful guidance 

as to whether a delay is so egregious as to warrant mandamus, their roles may differ depending on the circumstances” (cleaned up)); cf. In re Cal. Power Exch. Corp., 245 

F.3d 1110, 1125 (9th Cir. 2001) (observing that the TRAC 

factors were “somewhat different” from the more-traditional mandamus considerations at issue, but concluding 

that the delay under TRAC was not so unreasonable as to 

leave petitioner without an adequate alternative remedy—

i.e., simply waiting for a final order). We need not resolve 

specifically where and how TRAC fits in among the Cheney

factors to reaffirm, as we do here, that the Veterans Court 

should consider the TRAC factors when evaluating an unreasonable-delay mandamus petition.

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MOTE v. WILKIE 13

factor fails on its own merits. According to the government,

the Veterans Court properly concluded that the pendency 

of Mrs. Mote’s hearing made compelling “an immediate 

[B]oard decision” inappropriate under the circumstances.7 

Appellee’s Br. 21, 26–27; see id. at 21–27. There are at 

least two problems with this argument.

First, this argument fails to acknowledge the other relief Mrs. Mote’s petition sought, such as progress reports 

pending the Board’s decision. J.A. 68. Neither the Veterans Court nor the government has explained why the mere 

pendency of Mrs. Mote’s hearing made compelling progress

reports inappropriate—nor is it apparent to this court. 

Second, the government fails to appreciate the other 

options available to the Veterans Court to provide Mrs. 

Mote relief. Indeed, as the issuance of a writ is “largely 

controlled by equitable principles,” Duncan Townsite Co. v. 

Lane, 245 U.S. 308, 311–12 (1917) (Brandeis, J.); see also 

Clinton v. Goldsmith, 526 U.S. 529, 537 (1999) (“The All 

Writs Act invests a court with a power essentially equitable 

. . . .”), the Veterans Court enjoys flexibility to fashion the 

appropriate relief in a given case, see Hecht Co. v. Bowles, 

321 U.S. 321, 329 (1944) (“The essence of equity jurisdiction has been the power . . . to do equity and to mould each 

decree to the necessities of the particular case. Flexibility 

rather than rigidity has distinguished it.”). In TRAC itself 

the court “fashion[ed] a remedy for the specific instances 

presented by [that] case”—withholding mandamus, yet retaining jurisdiction and ordering the agency to provide 

(1) the dates by which it anticipated resolving the claims; 

and (2) periodic progress reports. TRAC, 750 F.2d at 80–

81, 81 nn.43–44. Therefore, even if compelling an “immediate” decision (or one within 45 days) were inappropriate 

7 We note that Mrs. Mote did not request an “immediate” Board decision; she requested a decision within 45 

days of the Veterans Court’s order. J.A. 68.

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14 MOTE v. WILKIE

in view of the pending hearing, the Veterans Court was not 

powerless to fashion other relief, such as giving the Board 

a more lenient, yet still specific, deadline by which to issue 

a decision. A genuine TRAC analysis may have informed

not only whether to provide Mrs. Mote any relief but also 

the appropriate character of that relief. 

Here, it is enough to say that the Veterans Court 

should have considered the TRAC factors before dismissing 

Mrs. Mote’s petition. Its failure to do so was legal error.

B

Having maintained that the Veterans Court did not

need to consider the TRAC factors, the government also argues that it’s “clear” the court did consider them. Appellee’s Br. 24–25. But we just don’t see it. As with Cheney, 

the TRAC factors made a quick exit after their initial appearance. And, in advancing this argument, the government misunderstands some of these factors.

For example, it argues that the Veterans Court considered the first TRAC factor—requiring that an agency’s

time to make decisions be governed by a “rule of reason”—

by “address[ing] the reason Mrs. Mote had not yet received 

a [B]oard decision.” Appellee’s Br. 25. But the only reason 

the Veterans Court gave was the pendency of Mrs. Mote’s 

hearing. Contrary to the government’s suggestion, the first 

TRAC factor’s “rule of reason” contemplates more than 

simply identifying the next prerequisite in the process; it 

contemplates whether the entire delay has been reasonable. In noting the hearing’s pendency, the Veterans Court 

did not consider whether it was reasonable that the hearing had not already taken place—nor, more generally, 

whether it was reasonable that after several years Mrs. 

Mote had yet to receive a decision from the Board. 

The government also argues that the Veterans Court 

considered TRAC factor five—the nature and extent of the 

interests prejudiced by delay—by addressing Mrs. Mote’s 

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MOTE v. WILKIE 15

“interest in receiving [a Board] decision immediately.” Appellee’s Br. 25. Though somewhat unclear from its brief, to 

the extent the government suggests that this factor is addressed simply by disposing of a petition that seeks action, 

the government is mistaken. Indeed, it could always be argued that, by disposing of the petition, the court has addressed (even indirectly) the petitioner’s “interest” in that 

action. But this factor clearly contemplates more than 

that. As we explained in Martin, this factor “incorporates 

an analysis of the effect of a delay on a particular veteran”—including the extent to which the veteran is dependent on the requested benefits.8 891 F.3d at 1347 

(emphasis added).

Ultimately conceding that the Veterans Court did not 

proceed “step-by-step” through an analysis of each TRAC

factor, the government nonetheless stresses that courts 

have latitude when crafting their opinions. Appellee’s 

Br. 24–25. Indeed, they do. But Mrs. Mote’s quarrel, and 

our concern, is not so much with the opinion’s organization 

or its treatment of one TRAC factor or another; it’s that, on 

a potentially meritorious mandamus petition, the opinion 

failed to consider those factors at all. See Reply 19–20; Oral 

Arg. at 28:14–28. And, to the extent the government’s argument implies that a rote walk-through of the factors is 

what this court expects, that is not so. Martin recognized 

the flexibility of the inquiry, noting that the TRAC standard is “hardly ironclad, and sometimes suffers from vagueness,” and that “each case should be analyzed based on its 

unique circumstances.” See 891 F.3d at 1345 (first quoting 

TRAC, 750 F.2d at 80; and then citing Am. Hospital Ass’n,

812 F.3d at 189). The point is not merely to check boxes; 

it’s to engage with factors that help illuminate the mandamus inquiry to more reliably reach a sound result.

8 The veteran is, of course, in the best position to substantiate particularized claims of prejudice.

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We must, however, decline Mrs. Mote’s invitation to engage with these factors in the first instance. See Appellant’s Br. 22–28, 30, 41–42. Instead, the Veterans Court 

should do so, as that is the court to which the petition is 

made. See Martin, 891 F.3d at 1343 n.5 (“‘Because the issuance of the writ is a matter vested in the discretion of the 

court to which the petition is made, and because this [c]ourt 

is not presented with an original writ of mandamus,’ we 

need not analyze each traditional mandamus requirement.” (quoting Cheney, 542 U.S. at 391)). Whether a delay 

is so egregious as to justify the extraordinary writ depends 

on issues that are likely to arise with some frequency 

among veterans. The Veterans Court—a court Congress 

established specifically for judicial review concerning veterans’ benefits claims9—is uniquely well positioned to address these issues first. Therefore, as in Martin, we deem 

it appropriate to remand to the Veterans Court for a genuine consideration of Mrs. Mote’s petition under the TRAC 

standard—though we do so reluctantly, and warily, given 

this case’s history and a remand’s potential to prolong the 

complained-of delay.

C

Mrs. Mote additionally argues that the Veterans Court

erred by failing to address her claim that, under the factors 

outlined in Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 335 (1976), 

the delay she has experienced violates procedural due process. Appellant’s Br. 16–17, 31–32. In Martin, we addressed appellants’ separate due process claims and 

observed that “a claim that a plaintiff has been denied due 

process because of delayed agency action is essentially no 

different than an unreasonable delay claim.” 891 F.3d at 

1348 (quoting Vietnam Veterans of Am. v. Shinseki, 599 

9 See Veterans’ Judicial Review Act, Pub. L. No. 100-

687, Div. A, Title III, 102 Stat. 4105, 4113–22 (1988); see 

generally H.R. Rep. No. 100-963, pt. 1 (1988).

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MOTE v. WILKIE 17

F.3d 654, 660 (D.C. Cir. 2010)). We also held that, on remand, “the Veterans Court will have the opportunity to determine, under the TRAC standard, whether the delay” 

was unreasonable. Id.; see id. at 1348–49 (“If the Veterans 

Court, employing the TRAC analysis, finds a delay unreasonable (or not unreasonable), it need not separately analyze the due process claim based on that same delay.”). 

Because on remand the Veterans Court failed to employ 

the TRAC analysis to assess the delay’s reasonableness, 

and because we remand again for that analysis, we adopt 

a similar disposition here. 

CONCLUSION

We find it necessary to repeat today what we said in 

Martin: The TRAC standard is “the appropriate standard 

for the Veterans Court to use in evaluating mandamus petitions based on alleged unreasonable delay.” Martin, 891 

F.3d at 1348. Because the Veterans Court did not apply 

this standard as required here, we again vacate the court’s 

judgment and remand for it do so.

VACATED AND REMANDED

COSTS

Costs to Claimant-Appellant.

Case: 19-2367 Document: 51 Page: 17 Filed: 09/28/2020