Opinion ID: 210362
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The 2002 SSOC as a Readjudication Decision

Text: Next, we consider Mayfield's assertion that the Veterans Court erred in concluding that the 2002 SSOC was a readjudication decision. Because there was no readjudication after her alleged VCAA notice, Mayfield asserts, her appeal was never properly before the Board and the case must be remanded back to the VA for issuance of a decision denying or granting her DIC claim. Under 38 U.S.C. § 5104(a), the VA must notify a claimant of a VA decision on a claim for benefits and explain the procedure for obtaining a review of the decision. If the VA denies a benefit, the VA's notice of denial must include a statement of the reasons for the decision and a summary of the evidence the VA considered in arriving at its decision. 38 U.S.C. § 5104(b). The Veterans Court upheld the Board's finding that the 2002 SSOC provided Mayfield with notice that the VA was denying her claim for DIC, and advised her that if she did not respond within 60 days, the matter would be returned to the Board. We agree. In addition, the Veterans Court noted that the SSOC indicates that the VA concluded that the evidence did not indicate any connection between Mr. Mayfield's service and his death. Read as a whole, then, the SSOC announced a decision, provided the reasons and bases therefor, and notified Mayfield of her appeal rights. We discern no error in the Veterans Court's conclusion that the SSOC served as a readjudication decision. In Mayfield II, we acknowledged that the March 2001 letter did not literally fulfill the requirements of the VCAA because it was not received by Mayfield prior to the VA's issuance of its initial unfavorable decision in December 1999. However, we held that this timing problem was cured by the Board's remand following the enactment of the VCAA for a new VCAA notification followed by readjudication of Mrs. Mayfield's claim. 444 F.3d at 1334. Notwithstanding this holding, Mayfield argues that we did not clearly characterize the 2002 SSOC as the readjudication decision in Mayfield II. We disagree, as it is clear that the 2002 SSOC must be the readjudication decision we referred to in Mayfield II as preceding the Board's May 2002 decision upholding the denial of Mayfield's claim. Indeed, the only decision issued by the VA following the December 2000 remand was the 2002 SSOC. Id. at 1334. In any event, to the extent that such is unclear, we squarely hold today that, where strict compliance with the timing requirements of the VCAA notification requirements would have been impossible because a claim was pending with the Board or an agency prior to issuance of the amended version of section 5103(a), a SSOC may properly announce the VA's readjudication decision. Finally, we reject Mayfield's assertion that the plain language of 38 C.F.R. § 19.31(a) precludes a SSOC from serving as a readjudication decision. Section 19.31(a) provides: A Supplemental Statement of the Case . . . is a document prepared by the agency of original jurisdiction to inform the appellant of any material changes in, or additions to, the information included in the Statement of the Case or any prior Supplemental Statement of the Case. In no case will a Supplemental Statement of the Case be used to announce decisions by the agency of original jurisdiction on issues not previously addressed in the Statement of the Case, or to respond to a notice of disagreement on newly appealed issues that were not addressed in the Statement of the Case. The agency of original jurisdiction will respond to notices of disagreement on newly appealed issues not addressed in the Statement of the Case using the procedures in §§ 19.29 and 19.30 of this part (relating to statements of the case). While section 19.31(a) confirms that the SSOC may not announce decisions on issues not previously addressed in a preceding SOC, we fail to comprehend how its plain language supports Mayfield's assertions that a SSOC may never announce readjudicatory decisions of the VA. Indeed, the regulations contemplate such a purpose for an SSOC since it may be furnished under a scenario where, as here, the agency of original jurisdiction receives additional pertinent evidence after issuance of a SOC and before the appeal is certified to the Board. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.31(b)(1). Therefore, the Veterans Court did not err in determining that the 2002 SSOC  by its nature being supplemental to the SOC  was a readjudication decision sufficient to put Mayfield on notice that she had 60 days in which to appeal to the Board as provided in the SOC.