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Page Number: 11

8 

GEORGE v. MCDONOUGH 

Opinion of the Court 

regulation based on a new interpretation of the “sound con-
dition” provision.  We express no view on the merits of that 
change in interpretation, which are not before us.  But be-
cause it is a change, it cannot support a claim of clear and 
unmistakable error in the Board’s routine 1977 application
of the prior regulation.  Put differently, the correct applica-
tion of a binding regulation does not constitute “clear and
unmistakable error” at the time a decision is rendered, even 
if that regulation is subsequently invalidated. 

B 
1 
George offers several responses.  He generally concedes
the premise that the 1997 statute codified the longstanding 
regulatory  practice  defining  “clear  and  unmistakable  er-
ror.”  He takes issue primarily with the conclusion that this 
practice  forbids  his  claim.    In  George’s  view,  the  VA  has 
“distorted”  its  own  history  by  glossing  over  a  handful  of 
“pre-legislation  Veterans  Court  opinions”  that  he  claims
“point in [his] direction.”  Brief for Petitioner 26, 41.  But 
across a century of review for clear and unmistakable error,
George  can  muster  only  one  case  sustaining  a  claim  that 
arguably resembles his.  See Look v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 
157 (1992) (approving collateral relief on two grounds, in-
cluding  a  later  invalidated  regulation,  without  discussing
the change-in-interpretation principle).  And even that case 
is ambiguous, as portions of the opinion may instead “sug-
gest that the [subsequent] invalidation of regulations does 
not  have  retroactive  effect  in  ‘finally’  disallowed  claims.” 
VA Op. 9–94, ¶5, p. 4 (emphasis added) (citing Look, 2 Vet. 
App., at 164).  Regardless, the case remains an outlier that
“no court has cited” on this point “[i]n the 30 years since,”
as  the  Government  notes  without  rebuttal  from  George.
Brief for Respondent 38.

This is thin stuff.  One uncertain outlier does not come