Wilson v. Peake
Opinion of the Court
ON MOTION
ORDER
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs moves to waive the requirements of Fed. Cir. R. 27(f) and to dismiss Steven R. Wilson’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
On September 28, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued a decision in Wilson v. Nicholson, No. 05-3725, 2007 WL
The Secretary argues that this court lacks jurisdiction because the CAVC’s decision was not final and does not meet the standard for appealability of nonfinal decisions set forth in Williams v. Principi, 275 F.3d 1361 (Fed.Cir. 2002). We agree.
This court generally does not review nonfinal decisions of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Departure from this rule is justified only if three conditions are fulfilled:
(1) there must have been a clear and final decision of a legal issue that (a) is separate from the remand proceedings, (b) will directly govern the remand proceedings or, (c) if reversed by this court, would render the remand proceedings unnecessary; (2) the resolution of the legal issues must adversely affect the party seeking review; and, (3) there must be a substantial risk that the decision would not survive a remand, ie., that the remand proceeding may moot the issue.
Id. at 1364 (footnotes omitted).
Here, inter aha, the CAVC did not decide legal issues adversely to Williams. Because the requirements of Williams are not satisfied, the decision is not final for the purposes of our review. Thus, we dismiss the appeal.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The Secretary’s motions are granted.
(2) Each side shall bear its own costs.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Steven R. WILSON, Claimant-Appellant v. James B. PEAKE, M.D., Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Status
- Published