NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

 

United States Court of Appeals 

for the Federal Circuit ______________________ 

DARREN L. DEFLANDERS,

Claimant-Appellant

v.

DENIS MCDONOUGH, SECRETARY OF 

VETERANS AFFAIRS,

Respondent-Appellee

______________________ 

2024-1074

______________________ 

Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for 

Veterans Claims in No. 23-2263, Judge Grant Jaquith.

______________________ 

Decided: July 16, 2024

______________________ 

DARREN L. DEFLANDERS, Ocean Spring, MS, pro se.

 KYLE SHANE BECKRICH, Commercial Litigation Branch, 

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

BRIAN M. BOYNTON, ELIZABETH MARIE HOSFORD, PATRICIA 

M. MCCARTHY. 

______________________ 

Case: 24-1074 Document: 54 Page: 1 Filed: 07/16/2024
2 DEFLANDERS v. MCDONOUGH

Before MOORE, Chief Judge, CUNNINGHAM, Circuit Judge,

and MAZZANT, District Judge.1

PER CURIAM. 

Darren L. DeFlanders appeals a decision from the 

United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans Court) dismissing his appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 

We affirm-in-part and dismiss-in-part. 

BACKGROUND

Mr. DeFlanders served in the United States Army from 

August 1989 until June 1996. S. Appx. 7.2 On February 6, 

2023, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) issued a decision granting some of Mr. DeFlanders’ claims and denying others. S. Appx. 5–21. On February 16, 2023, Mr. 

DeFlanders filed a motion for reconsideration of the Board 

decision. S. Appx. 24. On April 13, 2023, Mr. DeFlanders 

filed a notice of appeal with the Veterans Court contesting 

the Board’s February 6 decision. S. Appx. 1.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs moved to dismiss Mr. 

DeFlanders’ appeal. The Veterans Court granted the motion and dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 

S. Appx. 1–2. Mr. DeFlanders appeals.

DISCUSSION

We have jurisdiction to review “the validity of a decision of the [Veterans] Court on a rule of law or of any statute or regulation . . . or any interpretation thereof (other 

than a determination as to a factual matter) that was relied 

on by the [Veterans] Court in making the decision.” 38 

U.S.C. § 7292(a). Whether the Veterans Court lacks 

1 Honorable Amos L. Mazzant, III, District Judge, 

United States District Court for the Eastern District of 

Texas, sitting by designation.

2 “S. Appx.” refers to the Supplemental Appendix attached to Respondent’s Informal Brief.

Case: 24-1074 Document: 54 Page: 2 Filed: 07/16/2024
DEFLANDERS v. MCDONOUGH 3

jurisdiction is an issue of statutory construction, see 38 

U.S.C. § 7252, which we review de novo. Howard v. Gober, 

220 F.3d 1341, 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2000). Absent a constitutional issue, we may not review challenges to factual findings or to the application of a law or regulation to facts. 38 

U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). The Veterans Court has jurisdiction to 

review “decisions” of the Board. 38 U.S.C. § 7252(a). This 

jurisdiction is limited to final decisions that are adverse to 

the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 7266(a). If the Board has not 

rendered a decision on a claim, that claim is outside of the 

Veterans Court’s jurisdiction. Ledford v. West, 136 F.3d 

776, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1998).

To appeal a Board decision, a claimant must file a notice of appeal with the Veterans Court within 120 days of 

entry of the Board’s final judgment. 38 U.S.C. § 7266(a). 

When a motion for reconsideration is filed within that period, the Board decision is no longer final. Linville v. West, 

165 F.3d 1382, 1386 (Fed. Cir. 1999). If the motion for reconsideration is denied, a new 120-day period begins for a 

claimant to file a notice of appeal. See id.

Mr. DeFlanders argues the Veterans Court wrongly 

dismissed his appeal. Informal Br. of Appellant 1. The 

Veterans Court dismissed Mr. DeFlanders’ appeal for lack 

of jurisdiction because his pending motion for reconsideration rendered the Board decision non-final. S. Appx. 1–2. 

Mr. DeFlanders’ motion for reconsideration tolls the time 

limit for filing an appeal to the Veterans Court. Linville, 

165 F.3d at 1386. Until the Board renders a decision on 

Mr. DeFlanders’ motion for reconsideration, the Veterans 

Court does not have a final Board decision to review. See 

38 U.S.C. § 7266(a). The Veterans Court’s dismissal for 

lack of jurisdiction was therefore proper. 

Mr. DeFlanders’ remaining arguments are outside our 

jurisdiction. To the extent Mr. DeFlanders contests the 

merits of the Board’s February 6 decision, it is outside the 

scope of our review. We may not review challenges to factual findings or to the application of a law or regulation to 

facts. See 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). Mr. DeFlanders states 

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4 DEFLANDERS v. MCDONOUGH

the Veterans Court decision raises a constitutional issue, 

but his argument relates to the Veterans Court’s application of its jurisdictional statute. Informal Br. of Appellant 

1. Mr. DeFlanders’ mention of due process does not suffice 

to raise a constitutional issue within our jurisdiction. See 

Helfer v. West, 174 F.3d 1332, 1335 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (“[The 

appellant’s] characterization of [a] question as constitutional in nature does not confer upon us jurisdiction that 

we otherwise lack.”). We therefore dismiss Mr. DeFlanders’ other claims.

As the Veterans Court explained, this appeal does not 

exhaust Mr. DeFlanders’ opportunities for review of the 

Board’s February 6 decision. If Mr. DeFlanders’ motion for 

reconsideration is denied, he can appeal the denial in connection with the underlying Board decision by filing a new 

notice of appeal with the Veterans Court within 120 days 

of the denial.3 See Mayer v. Brown, 37 F.3d 618, 620 (Fed. 

Cir. 1994).

CONCLUSION

We have considered Mr. DeFlanders’ remaining arguments and find them unpersuasive. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the Veterans Court’s dismissal for lack of 

jurisdiction and dismiss the appeal as to the other issues. 

AFFIRMED-IN-PART AND DISMISSED-IN-PART

COSTS

No costs.

3 Mr. DeFlanders can check the status of his motion for 

reconsideration at https://www.va.gov/claim-or-appeal-status/. 

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