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Whole decision: Granted

The Board has determined that VA has the authority to pay attorney fees resulting from February 1998 and July 1998 regional office decisions, even though all past-due benefits have been released to the veteran.

The deciding factor: The decision is based on legal provisions allowing for payment of attorney fees when statutory and regulatory requirements are met, despite any prior release of past-due benefits.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
May 9, 2003
Citation
0308859

Veterans Law Judge

G.H. Shufelt

Decisions by this judge: 673 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)

Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.

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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0308859.

What this means for you

A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

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