12-10 603, 12-10 603

Veteran served on active duty from October 1956 to March 1969 and appealed VA regional office (RO) action concerning attorney fees tied to increased PTSD rating/TDIU.
RO had previously found the Veteran's former representative (S.H.) entitled to 20% ($9,471.10) of $47,355.50 in past-due benefits.
The case was before the Board of Veterans' Appeals and was remanded multiple times (Nov 2014, June 2015, June 2016) for procedural compliance and to schedule a videoconference hearing.
The Board advanced the appeal on the docket and reviewed VBMS and Virtual VA files; a remand attempted contact with the former representative but could not reach S.H.
The Social Security Administration notified the Board on August 12, 2016 that the Veteran died in July 2016.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to attorney fees based on grant of increased PTSD rating (70% from May 21, 2008) and TDIU from May 21, 2008	Veteran sought award of attorney fees tied to increased benefits and TDIU effective May 21, 2008	VA notified Board that the Veteran died during the appeal, making the merits moot and depriving the Board of jurisdiction	Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because the appellant died; no merits determination made

Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (appellants' claims generally do not survive death)
Smith v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 330 (1997) (veteran's appeal becomes moot upon death absent substitution)
Landicho v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 42 (1994) (death of claimant extinguishes appellant's rights for purposes of appeal)