United States Federal Circuit

In a suit by a widow of a veteran, seeking an earlier effective date for dependency and indemnity compensation benefits, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims' affirmance of a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals refusing the earlier date is affirmed, where: 1) for purposes of establishing an effective date of benefits ultimately granted pursuant to a reopened claim, an otherwise proper informal request to reopen such a claim need not be accompanied by the simultaneous submission or proffer of new and material evidence; but 2) the Veterans Court's imposition of an incorrect evidentiary burden on informal claimants was harmless error, as the plaintiff's Form 9 appeal contained no evidence of any kind showing an intent to reopen her previously decided claim.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/23/2012
• Published 03/23/2012

Judges

• Linn

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Kenneth M. Carpenter, Joshua E. Kurland