Oral Arguments:

Below is a list of oral arguments scheduled for a hearing before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) with brief summaries of the issues described as being on review. Each court often livestreams arguments on Youtube and makes the hearings available for later on-demand viewing. Cases at the CAFC can be found here: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - YouTube. Cases at the CAVC can be found here: United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims - YouTube. Cases may settle before argument is conducted.

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

APRIL

April 8, 2025

Altgelt v. Collins, 23-2202

This case addresses the standard for initiating an informal claim for VA benefits under 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a) prior to March 24, 2015. The appellant challenges the Veterans Court’s interpretation that an informal original claim must be initiated through a written communication. He contends that the regulation permitted claims to be initiated through any non-oral communication or action, and that written memorialization by VA could satisfy the writing requirement. The appeal asks whether the Veterans Court erred in applying Rodriguez v. West as a categorical bar to informal claims initiated by non-written actions later documented by VA.


April 9, 2025

Deal v. Collins,  23-2214

This case concerns the application of 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(b), which requires VA to consider new and material evidence submitted within one year of a rating decision as having been filed with the original claim. The appellant argues that VA medical records submitted within one year of a 1992 denial were not addressed in a subsequent adjudication, and therefore her original 1991 claim remained pending.

April 11, 2025

Pelt v. Collins, 23-2366

This appeal concerns the interpretation of the phrase “diastolic pressure predominantly 100 or more” under diagnostic code 7101. The appellant argues that the Veterans Court exceeded its jurisdiction by making factual findings not made by the Board and erred by adopting a new legal standard for interpreting “predominantly” in a nonprecedential decision.
 
MAY

May 5, 2025

Combs v. Collins, 23-2364

This appeal concerns whether the VA misapplied committed clear and unmistakable error when it rated a veteran’s reflux by analogy to hiatal hernia but required the precise requirements of the rating code to be applied or whether law stating that the precise requirements did not have to be met was a new judicial pronouncement . 

Modlin v. Collins, 23-2223

Mr. Modlin appeals the Veterans Court’s refusal to consider whether prior Notices of Disagreement (NODs) from 1980 and 2005 remained pending. He argues that the Board and the Court failed to determine which claim was actually before them, violating their duty to assess jurisdiction.

May 6, 2025

Herrington v. Collins, 23-2358

This appeal concerns whether the Veterans Court erred by applying a deferential standard of review when evaluating the Board’s selection of a diagnostic code to rate Mr. Herrington’s unlisted GERD condition by analogy. The appellant argues that, under 38 C.F.R. § 4.20, the selection of an analogous diagnostic code is a legal question subject to de novo review and must maximize benefits.
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May 8, 2025

Batson v. Collins, 23-2408

This appeal argues that the Veterans Court erred in affirming the Board’s dismissal of Mr. Batson’s appeal regarding the effective date of aid and attendance benefits. The brief contends the Board’s dismissal was void ab initio because Mr. Batson properly identified the determination he disagreed with, as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d), and the Board failed to follow regulatory procedures under 38 C.F.R. § 20.104(c). The appellant seeks reversal of the Veterans Court’s decision and reinstatement of his appeal for adjudication on the merits

Golden v. Collins, 23-2070

Mr. Golden argues that the Veterans Court erred when evaluating whether he or the record reasonably raised whether his hearing loss could be service-connected as secondary to acoustic trauma. Mr. Golden also asserts that the Court made impermissible factual findings.

May 9, 2025

Pace v. Collins, 24-1211 

Mr. Pace appeals the Veterans Court’s denial of his motion for clear and unmistakable error in the VA’s reduction of his 100% disability rating. He argues the court misinterpreted 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.343(a) and 3.344(a), which, read together, require two independent showings before reducing a total disability rating: (1) material improvement based on comparing VA exams and (2) sustained improvement under ordinary conditions. He contends the court’s reading—allowing reduction based on a single showing using prior evidence—is unsupported by regulation or case law and undermines protections for long-standing total disability awards

Moore v. Collins, 23-1867

Mr. Moore appeals the Veterans Court’s decision affirming the denial of his claims for an earlier PTSD effective date and a TDIU rating. He argues that the Board improperly dismissed the TDIU issue as moot without addressing his claim that it remained pending since 2002, and that the Veterans Court erred when it did not require his arguments to be addressed.

Court of Appeals For Veterans Claims

​APRIL

April 29, 2025

Witkowski v. Collins, 24-0640

            Whether the Board can review extra-schedular TDIU in the first instance.


MAY

May 1, 2025

Loomis v. Collins, 23-4348

The legal standards governing GI Bill benefits for FAA-approved flight training.

May 13, 2025

Boehringer v. Collins, 23-7995

Whether AMA’s continuous pursuit rules apply to a supplemental claim filed after a final legacy-system decision.