UNITED STAT ES COURT OF AP P EALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS

No. 97-1657
J ER R Y L. M EEK , A PP EL L ANT ,

V
. ANTHONY J. P RI NCI PI , S EC RE T A RY O F V ET ER A N S A FF A I RS , A PPEL L EE
.

Be fore FARL EY, HOL DAWAY, and I VERS, Judges

O R D E R The veter an, J err

y L

. Meek, appea ls a J une 17, 1997, Boa rd of Ve tera

ns' Appea ls (BV A or Boa rd) de cision which (1) denied a compensa

ble rating f

or ony chomy cosis of t he left g reat toe and a rating in excess of 40% for a herniated nucleus pulposus a n d (2) r emande d claims for se rvice connec tion f

or thy roid disability , including e ntitlement under 38 U.S.C. § 1151. On September 22, 1999, the Court denied the a ppellant' s motion for re m and and or dere d the appe llant to file a brief within 30 day s. On Dec ember 9, 1999, the appe llant, throug h counsel, filed his princ ipal b ri ef a rguin g that th e B VAde c isi on sh ou ld be va c a te d an d th e ma tte r r e mand e d f or pr oc e dura l de fe c ts. Th e a pp e lla nt a lso a rgue s th a t a

re mand of his c la im f

or a n inc re a se d ra

tin g fo r i nte rv e rt e br a l di sc sy nd ro me is r e qu ir e d p ur su a

nt to a chan ge i n law. T he Se c re tary fi le d a br ie f o n Jun e 1, 20 00 , in which he a

rg ues that the a

ppellant has abandone d his a ppeal of the B oard' s denial of his cla im for a compe nsable rating f

or ony chomy cosis of the lef t gr eat toe a

n d that the B oard' s denial of a n incre ased r ating for inter

verte bral disc sy

ndrome should be a ffirme d. On Novembe r 9, 2000, the Veter ans Claims Assis tance Act of 2000, Pub. L . No. 106-475, 114 Stat. 2096 (2000) (VCAA) was e nacte d. I n response to the Court's January 8, 2001, order , the parties f iled supplemental brief

s addre ssing the pote ntial applicability o f t h e VC AA. The parties ag ree that the veter an' s claim for a n incre ased r at i n g for a

herniated nucleus pulposus should be re mand e d in

lig ht o f t he VC AA

. Th e Se c re tary a rgue s, ho we ve r, that th e a pp e lla nt a ba nd on e d h is appea l of the Boa

rd' s denial of his c laim f

or an inc rea sed rating f

or ony chomy cosis of the lef t gr eat toe. The a

ppellant maintains that he ha s not abandone d h i s appea l of his left g reat toe claim and a rgue s th a t a

re mand of that c la im i s a lso re qu ir e d. Alth ou gh th e a pp e lla nt n e ve r s pe c if

ic a lly addre ssed the mer its of the Boa rd' s decision re g ardinghis left g reat toe claim, bec ause the appellant challeng ed the e ntire B VA dec ision on procedur al g rounds, the Court finds that h i s appea l of that issue has not bee n abandone d. Among other things, the V CAA eliminated the we ll-g rounded- claim re quirement a nd modified the Secr etar

y ' s duties to notify

and assist claimants. Se e ge ne ra lly VC AA , §§ 3, 4, 7; see also Holliday v. Principi, __ Vet.App. __, __, slip op. at 6-9, No. 99- 1788 (F eb. 22, 2001) ( holding2

all sections of VCAA a

re r etroa ctive). I

n Karnas v. Derwinski , 1 Ve t.A pp . 308 , 312 -1 3 ( 19 91 ), thi s Court he ld t hat wh e re a statut e or re g ulatio n c ha ng e s duri ng the a

pp e llate pr oc e ss, the ve rs ion mos t favo rabl e to the c la ima

nt s ha ll a pp ly . I t is no t th e fu

nc tio n o f t

his Cou rt to d e te rm ine in t

he fi rs t instance w hich version of t he law is most favor able to the claimant. Se e Ba k e r v . W est , 11 Vet.App. 16 3 ( 19 98 ); Du dn ic k

v . B ro wn , 10 Vet.App. 79 ( 1997). Ac cording ly , a re mand is require d. On rema nd, the appe llant is free to submit additional evidenc e and a rg ument nece ssary

to the resolution of his claim. Se e Kut sc he ro us k yv . W est , 12 Vet.App. 369 (1999) ( per c uriam orde r). The Boa rd shall proce ed expeditiously

. See Veter ans' Be nefits I mprovement Ac t, Pub. L . No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994) (found at 38 U.S.C. § 5101 note) (re quiring Secre tary to provide fo r " e xpe dit iou s tr e a tme nt" of c la ims rem and ed by

the B oa rd or Court ); Dr os k

yv . B ro wn , 10 Ve t.A pp . 2 51 (1 99 7) . I f the c ir c ums tanc e s w a rr a nt, the B oa

rd is a uth or ize d a

nd ob lig a te d to rema nd the claim to the VA reg ional office for f urther de velopment. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.9(a) (1999); Littke v . Derwinski , 1 Vet.App. 90 ( 1990). Up on c on sid e ratio n o f t

he fo re g oin g , it

is ORDERED that the J une 17, 1997, decision of the Boa rd of Ve tera

ns' Appea ls, to the ex tent it de nied the appellant' s claims for incre ased rating s for his se rvice -conne cted herniat ed n u cl eus pulposus and ony chomy cosis of the lef t gr eat toe, is VA CATED and the matter is REMANDED.

DA TE D: Ap ri l 17 , 2 00 1 PER CU RI AM

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