HadIt.com Elder fanaticbooks Posted June 11, 2011 HadIt.com Elder Share Posted June 11, 2011 NOTE: VA Fast Letter 11-15.pdf DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Veterans Benefits Administration Washington, D.C. 20420 April 27, 2011 Director (00/21) All VA Regional Offices In Reply Refer To: 212A Fast Letter 11-15 SUBJ: Handling Disagreements with Final Decisions by the Board of Veterans' Appeals BACKGROUND 38 U.S.C. § 7266 allows individuals 120 days to appeal a final decision by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). Under CAVC's rules, an appellant must file a Notice of Appeal (NOA) in writing with the Clerk of the Court prior to expiration of the 120-day time limit. CAVC will not consider the putative appeal of an appellant who, without good cause, does not file a timely NOA. Appellants may abate (i.e., suspend) the NOA filing period by instead filing a Motion for Reconsideration (MFR) with BVA within 120 days of the date of its final decision. A new 120-day time limit for filing a NOA would begin effective the date of BVA's decision on the MFR. Only BVA can act on a MFR, and CAVC will not consider an appeal while a MFR remains pending. Therefore, it is imperative that regional offices (ROs), including the Pension Management Centers, Appeals Management Center, and Appeals Resource Centers, quickly identify possible MFRs and forward them expeditiously to BVA. BVA will determine whether the documents are true MFRs or misfiled NOAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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