Helen T. Compton, Claimant-appellant, v. Jesse Brown, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Respondent-appellee, 33 F.3d 64 (Fed. Cir. 1994)
Annotate this CaseBefore ARCHER, Circuit Judge, COWEN, Senior Circuit Judge, and RADER, Circuit Judge.
ON MOTION
ORDER
RADER, Circuit Judge.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs moves to waive the requirements of Fed. Cir. R. 27(e) and to dismiss Helen T. Compton's appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Compton has not filed a response.
On August 6, 1991, the Board of Veterans Appeals denied Compton's claim of service connection for her veteran husband's death. On February 5, 1993, Compton appealed to the Court of Veterans Appeals. On April 23, 1993, the Court of Veterans Appeals dismissed Compton's appeal because it was filed beyond the 120-day statutory period. Compton appealed to this Court.
Under 38 U.S.C. § 7292, this court may review only challenges to the validity or interpretation of a statute or regulation, or to the interpretation of a constitutional provision, that the court of Veterans Appeals relied on in its decision. If an appeal to this court from the Court of Veterans Appeals does not challenge the validity or interpretation of a statute or regulation, or the interpretation of a constitutional provision, Sec. 7292(d) requires this court to dismiss the appeal. That section states that this court "may not review (A) a challenge to a factual determination, or (B) a challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case."
Compton challenges only the factual determination that her appeal was untimely filed and the application of the law to her case. In her informal brief, Compton argues that the Court of Veterans Appeals lost her original, timely filed notice of appeal. Compton states that because her appeal was dismissed, the wrong law was applied to her case. Her appeal thus amounts to a request for review of factual determinations and a challenge to the law as applied to the particular facts of her case. As this court has no jurisdiction to conduct such an inquiry, this appeal must be dismissed. See Livingston v. Derwinski, 959 F.2d 224, 225-26 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The Secretary's motion to waive the requirements of Fed. Cir. R. 27(e) is granted.
(2) The Secretary's motion to dismiss is granted.
(3) Each side shall bear its own costs.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
