Schofield v. Collins

Case: 26-1919 Document:7 Page:1 Filed: 08/26/2026 NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.

Gnuited States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circutt

PRESTON L. SCHOFIELD,

Claimant-Appellant

Vv.

DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs,

Respondent-Appellee

2026-1919

Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in No. 26-568, Chief Judge Michael P. Al- len.

ON MOTION

Before LOURIE, PROST, and REYNA, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

ORDER

In response to this court’s show cause order, the Secre- tary of Veterans Affairs urges dismissal of this appeal as untimely. Preston L. Schofield has not responded to the order.

Case: 26-1919 Document:7 Page:2 _ Filed: 08/26/2026 SCHOFIELD v. COLLINS

The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims denied Mr. Schofield’s petition for mandamus on February 26, 2026, and subsequently entered judgment on March 20, 2026. On March 22, 2026, Mr. Schofield filed a motion for reconsideration, which the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims denied on March 25, 2026. On June 2, 2026, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims received Mr. Schofield’s notice of appeal in this matter.!

This court lacks jurisdiction under 38 U.S.C. § 7292(a) to hear Mr. Schofield’s appeal because it is untimely. Like appeals from district courts, the statutorily prescribed time for filing appeals from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is jurisdictional. See Wagner v. Shinsekt, 733 F.3d 1348, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2013); see also Henderson v. Shinsekt, 562 U.S. 428, 438-39 (2011) (Because the time for taking an appeal from a district court to a court of appeals in a civil case has long been understood to be jurisdictional, th[e] language [of § 7292(a)] clearly signals an intent to im- pose the same restrictions on appeals from the [Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims] to the Federal Circuit.” (cita- tion omitted)). To be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed “within the time and in the manner prescribed for appeal” from a district court to a court of appeals, which, as rele- vant here, is 60 days after the judgment. § 7292(a); see 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b); see also Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B); Fed. Cir. R. 1(a)(1)(D). Even if measured from the denial of the reconsideration motion, Mr. Schofield’s notice of appeal was filed outside of that window, and we must dismiss.

Accordingly,

1 Although the notice states that Mr. Schofield ap- peals from a final judgment or order dated “06/02/2026,” there is no such entry on the court’s docket.

Case: 26-1919 Document:7 Page:3 _ Filed: 08/26/2026 SCHOFIELD v. COLLINS 3

IT IS ORDERED THAT: (1) The appeal is dismissed. (2) All pending motions are denied. (3) Each side shall bear its own costs.

FOR THE COURT

August 26, 2026 Jarrett B. Perlow

Date Clerk of Court