Castillo v. Collins

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Decided: March 19, 2025
• Docket: 25-1126
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 25-1126 Document: 15 Page: 1 Filed: 03/19/2025

NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________

ROBERT CASTILLO, Claimant-Appellant

v.

DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs, Respondent-Appellee ______________________

2025-1126 ______________________

Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in No. 24-3611. ______________________

Before DYK, PROST, and CHEN, 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 premature. Robert Castillo responds in favor of this court’s jurisdiction. The Secretary moved to dismiss Mr. Castillo’s pending case before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for want of jurisdiction. On July 26, 2024, that court directed Mr. Castillo to respond and submit a copy of Case: 25-1126 Document: 15 Page: 2 Filed: 03/19/2025

the decision which he sought to appeal, and otherwise stayed proceedings. Mr. Castillo responded and shortly thereafter filed an appeal to this court from the July 26, 2024 order. Meanwhile, the underlying proceedings, in- cluding the motion to dismiss, remain pending. Generally, this court has jurisdiction only over a final decision by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Al- len v. Principi, 237 F.3d 1368, 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2001). A de- cision is final only when it “ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judg- ment.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims’s July 26, 2024 order is not such an order, as that court clearly contem- plated additional proceedings before final resolution. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT: (1) The appeal is dismissed as premature. (2) Each party shall bear its own costs. FOR THE COURT

March 19, 2025 Date