The Board has determined that it does not have jurisdiction to decide the matter of attorney fees eligibility, as addressed by the Court in Scates v. Gober.
The deciding factor: The Court held that all issues involving entitlement or eligibility for attorney fees under direct-payment contingency-fee agreements must first be addressed by the RO and cannot be the subject of original Board review.
- Claimed conditions
- Major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 7, 2000
- Citation
- 0023796
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0023796.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted initial ratings of 40 percent for lumbar spine disorder, 70 percent for major depressive disorder, and 40 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy. TDIU and SMC based on housebound status were also granted.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, based on the Veteran's military service in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, currently diagnosed as other specified trauma and stressor related disorder and major depressive disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and major depressive disorder, finding that these conditions originated during active service. The claims for a recurrent sleep disability and a recurrent respiratory disability were remanded for further development.
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