FCOA Precedent Alert: Cook v. Wilkie (Can a veteran have more than one BVA hearing?)

What is the Deep Issue in the Case? 38 U.S.C. §7107(b) (2012) requires “[t]he Board shall decide any appeal only after affording the appellant an opportunity for a hearing.”  On remand from the Veterans Court, the veteran asked for a new BVA hearing to provide additional evidence. Writing for the BVA, Veterans Law Judge Milo Hawley denied the veteran’s hearing request, writing that the veteran  “was already afforded a Board hearing” and that “no further hearing is necessary.”  Does 38 U.S.C. § 7107(b) (2012) entitle an appellant to an opportunity for a BVA hearing whenever the Board of Veterans Appeals decides an appeal, including on remand? What did the FCOA Decide? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the BVA is required to provide a hearing before deciding any appeal, even if a BVA hearing has already been held prior to a remand from the CAVC. In doing so, the Federal Circuit affirmed…

Read more detail on Recent Administrative Law posts –

This entry was posted in Administrative law and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply