Opinion ID: 738607
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: 5 This Court typically does not have jurisdiction over Court of Veterans Appeals remands because they are not final judgments. See Travelstead v. Derwinski, 978 F.2d 1244, 1247-49 (Fed.Cir.1992); Cabot Corp. v. United States, 788 F.2d 1539, 1542 (Fed.Cir.1986). Yet, a so-called collateral order exception to this so-called final judgment rule does exist when the remand disposes of an important legal issue that would be effectively unreviewable at a later stage of litigation. Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay, 437 U.S. 463, 468, 98 S.Ct. 2454, 2457-58, 57 L.Ed.2d 351 (1978); see also, Travelstead, 978 F.2d at 1247 n. 7. 6 This case, however, does not present such an exception. In contradistinction, in this case the Court of Veterans Appeals remanded Mr. Winn's claim to the BVA for further fact finding on the merits of his particular disorder. There, Mr. Winn may win or lose on the facts of his case without regard to the regulation he now challenges. If he loses, and the regulation is applied against him, and the loss is affirmed by the Court of Veterans Appeals, then Mr. Winn can certainly appeal to this court on what will then be a final judgment. 2 At that time, if the regulation had been relied upon by the Court of Veterans Appeals in reaching its decision, then Mr. Winn may have proper standing to challenge its validity before this court.