Demery: Notice of Appeal Filed After Veteran's Death
/Demery v. Wilkie, docket no. 17-3469 (per curiam order) (Jan. 17, 2019)
HELD: Timely Notice of Appeal filed after the veteran’s death was not valid with respect to the substituted party, but the eligible substitute may amend the NOA to name her as the appellant and ask the Court to relate the amended NOA back to the date the original NOA was filed so as to make it timely.
SUMMARY: On October 3, 2017, the Court received a timely NOA of a June 22, 2017 Board decision. Shortly afterwards, the attorneys who filed the NOA notified the Court that the veteran had passed away and filed a motion to substitute his surviving spouse. The Court then discovered that the veteran had passed away in August 2017 – after the Board’s decision, but before the NOA had been filed. Because “a dead person may not appeal a Board decision,” the Court found that the NOA was “defective,” but still allowed the surviving spouse to file an amended NOA and to relate that NOA back to the date of the original filing.
