Case: 24-1298 Document: 39 Page: 1 Filed: 12/16/2025

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________

SAMANTHA A. FALES, Claimant-Appellant

v.

DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, Respondent-Appellee ______________________

2024-1298 ______________________

Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in No. 22-3, Judge Joseph L. Toth. ______________________

JUDGMENT ______________________

FALEN M. LAPONZINA, ADVOCATE Nonprofit Organi- zation, Washington, DC, argued for claimant-appellant. Also represented by KENNETH M. CARPENTER, Carpenter Chartered, Topeka, KS.

GALINA I. FOMENKOVA, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Wash- ington, DC, argued for respondent-appellee. Also repre- sented by BRIAN M. BOYNTON, ERIC P. BRUSKIN, PATRICIA M. MCCARTHY; RICHARD STEPHEN HUBER, DEREK SCADDEN, Case: 24-1298 Document: 39 Page: 2 Filed: 12/16/2025

Office of General Counsel, United States Department of Veterans Affairs. ______________________

THIS CAUSE having been heard and considered, it is

ORDERED and ADJUDGED:

PER CURIAM (PROST, CLEVENGER, and TARANTO, Cir- cuit Judges). AFFIRMED. See Fed. Cir. R. 36.

ENTERED BY ORDER OF THE COURT

December 16, 2025 Date