Writ of Mandamus Granted?

[toddt]

If I am reading this correctly, I believe my petition for a writ of mandamus has been granted.  The last two paragraphs of my case at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims:

"Based solely on the petition, the Court can't decide if a writ compelling the RO to decide
the petitioner's claim is warranted. So, it is"

"ORDERED that, within 14 days of this order, the government file a response to the petition
addressing the petitioner's claims."

Now to wait and see what the Regional Office does.  From the time I sent my petition to the Court 9/25/18 until today 10/4/18 that is pretty darn fast.  Thanks to broncovet for the encouragement and to all of Alex's writings on Writs of Mandamus.

[broncovet]

A writ of mandamus should only be used when everything else has failed, but, unfortunately, with the "culture of denial" ever present at VA Writs are needed much more often than they actually occur.  

I have encountered dozens of Vets who needed the use of a writ to resolve their problem, but only 3 on this board have done so or had the ability:  Berta, Alex and myself.  Alex and myself have filed writs, and Berta could easily do so if she has not already.  But most Vets have no idea how to file a writ, and wind up dying before their claim ever gets resolved.  

     Im very pleased number 4, Toddt,  has taken the time to learn to file a writ, and has done so.  I hope he shares his expeirences.  Job well done, Toddt!  

Edited October 6, 2018 by broncovet

[toddt]

GeekySquid;   Number one,  document everything you have done to be used if the time comes.   Alex (AskNod) suggests that a petition for a writ should not be filed until two and a half years have passed and you have made numerous documented attempts to persuade the VA to "complete" your claim.    Here is some good reading material to keep you busy: 

http://thomasandrewslaw.blogspot.com/2018/07/martin-battling-unreasonable-delays-and.html

[GeekySquid]

3 hours ago, Buck52 said:

Check out quote from the last paragraph!

@buck52

Thanks for the response Buck, it's approximately what I expected, an unknown "known" requirement with few boundaries.

This post and your other response to me brought up a new question.

In both there is reference to VA Counsel and in this one VA Director as "respondent". I know there is a VA Regional Counsel that gets involved with some cases or actions and that there is a Regional Director. There are also similar titles of people over the Entire system. Which ones are being referred to in these posts.

Thanks for any more info

 

[GeekySquid]

2 hours ago, broncovet said:

A writ of mandamus should only be used when everything else has failed,

@broncovet

Thanks for the input and information. I completely get that Mandamus as a legal and procedural matter is an activity of last resort in the process.

I am nowhere near that stage but I am collecting information on the procedural steps and what could be considered "reasonable" time frames. I don't know that I will have to use that information personally but having it complied and organized as I go through the process.

I tend to be upfront about things and one of my biggest flaws (as i get older) is that i am no longer willing to "hurry up and wait" just because a faceless functionary somewhere has not gotten around to doing what seems like their job. I know the VA people "don't care" what I wiling to do, but knowing what is possible and the avenues open to me makes it easier for me to deal with and plan contingencies around.

Here is a thought, do you think you, berta, asknod, toddt, and other Hadit Elders would be willing to create "timelines" of typical actions and associated docs to send or expect back?

If so I could easily put them into a flow charts that might help new veterans starting the process have a visualization of what to expect? I am sure that stuff is readily available in your heads but would be a hassle to put into coherent docs, but they would greatly help with the myriad of form names, abbreviations and levels that claims might be sitting at.

Just a thought

Thanks

 

 

 

[GeekySquid]

41 minutes ago, toddt said:

Here is some good reading material to keep you busy

@toddt

Thank you for that link. That case as well as TRAC mentioned in it provide what seems to be very significant bounding detail, in specific the 6 steps and the opinion and concurrence opinion quotes. I do appreciate this.

AS I mention to Buck52 in an above post, I am nowhere near this stage, but i am frustrated by the mish-mash of competing information. Part of which is result of experienced people using acronyms or form numbers that are unfamiliar, and another part is the lack of a visualized timeline for the different stages (along with associated docs and forms) that show what can be expected as a "normal" process and or timeline.

It is a basic fact that the VA has more work than staff, and under the current political assault on hiring Federal 'Workers and towards privatizing the VA, there is not a realistic hope of an increase in staff.

With that said, the case you provided shows that 1000+ days to execute what amounts to a managerial process  is obscene to anyone, much less the veteran scraping by, who is homeless/about to be homeless, or dying. People in these situations have a definition of "reasonable" that is a far cry from that average 1000+ days.

on a side note if you read my post to Buck, I hope you will consider using your experiences to help put together a timeline of steps taken (along with expected docs, forms etc) for the different stages of the claims process. This would be an invaluable tool to help new people understand the process and set their expectations.

The Hadit Elders have a wellspring of experience that they do share and it is appreciated; some things however are better served up as static visualizations of a basic process than from a third party trying to evaluate (in a forum) the steps a stranger needs to be taking. Such timelines for each step could easily be turned into flow charts that show what can be expected at each stage. This includes case-decisions, docs, forms, letters, abbreviations etc. that the person just starting that part of the path may not know they need.

Thanks again for your information and help. I hope you get a favorable determination on your Writ.

[Berta]

I believe I found your CAVC decision.

However if I post the link here, it will have your name on it-

will post link if you want me to...but if not that';s OK

One question- if that is your case- did the CAVC send you a copy of their Order?