Capellan v. Peake

539 F.3d 1373, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 18745, 2008 WL 4007462
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedSeptember 2, 2008
Docket2007-7236
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 539 F.3d 1373 (Capellan v. Peake) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Capellan v. Peake, 539 F.3d 1373, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 18745, 2008 WL 4007462 (Fed. Cir. 2008).

Opinions

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge NEWMAN. Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge SCHALL.

[1374]*1374NEWMAN, Circuit Judge.

This appeal centers on the attempt of Fortunata Capellán to establish that her husband, Santiago A. Capellán, was killed in the Battle of Bataan in 1942 while in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the service of the United States Armed Forces. His body was never recovered. Mrs. Capellan’s claim is founded on 38 U.S.C. § 107, which provides certain veterans benefits to members of the Philippine military services who were incorporated into the United States Armed Forces. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.40.

After the war Mrs. Capellan applied for veterans’ benefits based on her husband’s service. The application was granted and Mrs. Capellán received benefits for several months in 1950 until they were terminated in August of that year. This appeal is from the most recent denial of her claim for dependency and indemnity compensation, by decision of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the “Veterans Court”). The Veterans Court held that Mr. Capellan’s military service had not been established by an official United States military document or verified by a United States service department pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.203, and declined to consider the new evidence from Philippine military authorities.1 In its ruling the Veterans Court appears to have diverged from other decisions concerning verification of Philippine military service when new information was provided after an earlier adverse determination. See, e.g., Padilla v. Nicholson, No. 05-2518, 2007 WL 412356, at *2 (Vet.App. Jan.3, 2007) (requiring review of new information); Dela Cruz v. Nicholson, No. 04-137, 2005 WL 3057877, at *3 -*4 (Vet.App. Oct.21, 2005) (requiring review of new information).

At the threshold, the government challenges our jurisdiction of this appeal.

Jurisdiction

Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7292(a), as amended in 2002, this court has appellate authority “with respect to the validity of a decision of the [Veterans Court] on a rule of law or of any statute or regulation ... or any interpretation thereof ... that was relied on by the Court in making the decision.” However, except to the extent that an appeal presents a constitutional issue, this court “may not review (A) a challenge to a factual determination, or (B) a challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case.” 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). The 2002 amendment to § 7292(a) enlarged our jurisdiction beyond issues of the validity or interpretation of a statute or regulation, to include review of any legal principle and its interpretation. See Morgan v. Principi, 327 F.3d 1357, 1361 (Fed.Cir.2003) (“[T]he amendment enacted by Congress has the effect of making the review of ‘a decision of the Court [of Appeals for Veterans Claims] on a rule of lav^ a separate jurisdictional basis, and textually independent of whether that rule of law was ‘relied on’ ....”); see also Wilson v. Principi, 391 F.3d 1203, 1209 (Fed.Cir.2004) (“We have interpreted the revised statute as conferring on this court a form of ‘case jurisdiction,’ as opposed to ‘issue jurisdiction.’ ”).

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (herein “the VA”) argues that this court does not have jurisdiction to consider any aspect of this appeal, stating that Mrs. Ca-pellán is simply seeking review of a factual determination concerning Mr. Capellan’s military service. Mrs. Capellán argues that the decision of the Veterans Court was based on an incorrect interpretation of certain statutes and regulations. The is[1375]*1375sues she raises primarily concern 38 C.F.R. § 3.203, a VA regulation that relates to evidence of military service and that states the procedures to be followed by claimants and by the VA in collaboration with the military services. Mrs. Ca-pellán argues that this regulation was incorrectly interpreted in view of the VA’s statutory duty to assist, 38 U.S.C. § 5103A, and the benefit-of-the-doubt statute applicable to veterans’ claims, 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b).

We conclude that the jurisdictional requirements of § 7292 are met. See Alpough v. Nicholson, 490 F.3d 1352, 1358 (Fed.Cir.2007) (accepting jurisdiction where the Veterans Court relied on erroneous interpretations of 38 U.S.C. § 101(3) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.53(b) in rejecting surviving spouse’s claim for benefits); Wilson, 391 F.3d at 1211 (accepting jurisdiction and remanding for reapplication of EAJA in light of statutory change and intervening precedent). We thus accept jurisdiction, and remand for reapplication of the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions, consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

Before and during World War II the Commonwealth of the Philippines was a territory of the United States.2 On July 26, 1941 President Roosevelt placed the military forces of the Philippines in the service of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). See Military Order, 6 Fed.Reg. 3825 (July 26, 1941). The United States duly provided that members of the Philippine military forces who fought the Japanese invasion, or Philippine persons who fought as guerrillas during the Japanese occupation, and then-survivors, were eligible for certain benefits from the United States. See 38 U.S.C. § 107(a) (defining Philippine service qualifying for certain benefits, including dependency and indemnity compensation for a surviving spouse pursuant to chapter 13 of title 38); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.40, 3.41 (specifying types of Philippine service qualifying for dependency and indemnity compensation benefits).

After the war Mrs. Capellán filed a claim for death pension and other benefits based on her husband’s military service and his death at Bataan. A United States Army Report dated August 2, 1948 states that the Army confirmed that Santiago A. Capellán served in the military service of the United States through the Philippine Commonwealth Army, that his service began on December 23, 1941, and that he was killed in action on February 28, 1942 during the battle for Bataan.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

10-27 714
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2016
15-42 595
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2016
10-41 377
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2015
12-18 672
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2015
Juliet T. Tagupa v. Robert A. McDonald
27 Vet. App. 95 (Veterans Claims, 2014)
11-00 215
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2013
10-48 116
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2013
95-25 561
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2013
10-47 557
Board of Veterans' Appeals, 2011
Fagan v. Shinseki
573 F.3d 1282 (Federal Circuit, 2009)
Henry L. Gardner v. Erik K. Shinseki
22 Vet. App. 415 (Veterans Claims, 2009)
Hogan v. Peake
Federal Circuit, 2008
Capellan v. Peake
539 F.3d 1373 (Federal Circuit, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
539 F.3d 1373, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 18745, 2008 WL 4007462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capellan-v-peake-cafc-2008.