Simona Suguitan v. Robert A. McDonald

27 Vet. App. 114, 2014 U.S. Vet. App. LEXIS 1817, 2014 WL 5463947
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
DecidedOctober 29, 2014
Docket12-1620
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 27 Vet. App. 114 (Simona Suguitan v. Robert A. McDonald) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Simona Suguitan v. Robert A. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 114, 2014 U.S. Vet. App. LEXIS 1817, 2014 WL 5463947 (Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

PER CURIAM:

Pending before the Court is Ms. Sugui-tan’s pro se appeal of an April 4, 2012, Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) decision. The Board found that Ms. Suguitan was not entitled to a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund (FVECF or fund) as the surviving spouse of veteran Luis S. Sugui-tan, who had qualifying military service in the Philippines. Ms. Suguitan died during the pendency of this appeal and her son, Benedicto Suguitan, has moved to be substituted as the appellant. The issue we address is whether to grant Benedicto’s motion to substitute.

For the reasons discussed below, we. hold that Benedicto lacks standing to pursue Ms. Suguitan’s appeal. The Court therefore will deny his motion to substitute, vacate the Board’s April 4, 2012, decision, and dismiss Ms. Suguitan’s appeal. See Landicho v. Brown, 7 Vet.App. 42, 54-55 (1994) (when a claimant dies while an appeal of a Board decision is pending, the appropriate remedy is to vacate the Board decision from which the appeal was taken and dismiss the appeal); see also Zevalkink v. Brown, 102 F.3d 1236, 1243-44 (Fed.Cir.1996) (affirming Landicho).

I. BACKGROUND

Ms. Suguitan was married to Filipino veteran Luis S. Suguitan, who died on October 15, 1996, More than 12 years later, on February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which established the FVECF. Pub.L. No. 111-5, § 1002, 123 Stat. 115 200-02 (2009). . Section 1002 of the ARRA authorized the Secretary of VA to make one-time payments from the fund to eligible persons, defined as those with qualifying military service during World War II in either the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines or in the Philippine Scouts. 1 Id. Payments may be made to *116 eligible persons who submit a claim for section 1002 benefits “during the one-year period beginning -on the date of enactment.” Id. at § 1002(c)(1). “If an eligible person who has filed a .claim for benefits under [section 1002] dies before payment is made, the payment ... shall be made instead to the surviving spouse, if any, of the eligible person.” Id. at § 1002(e)(2).

In establishing the fund, Congress explained that many Filipino veterans who served under the control of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II were not eligible for the full range of benefits available to other veterans and many were paid benefits at a reduced rate pursuant to the so-called Rescissions Acts of 1946. Id. at § 1002(a)(5)-(8). 2 Under the FVECF provisions, qualifying U.S. citizens receive a one-time payment of $15,000, while non-citizens receive $9,000. Id. at § 1002(e). Moreover, the FVECF provisions require the Secretary of VA to administer FVECF claims “in a manner consistent with applicable provisions of title 38, United States Code, and other provisions of law.” Id. at § 1002(j)(2). Acceptance of a payment by an eligible person or surviving spouse constitutes “a complete release of any claim against the United States by reason of any [qualifying] service” but does not. affect entitlement to benefits “which the person would have been eligible to receive based on laws in effect as of the day before the date of ... enactment.” Id. at § 1002(h)(1), (2); see generally Recinto, 706 F.3d at 1177 (explaining that acceptance of an FVECF payment does not disentitle a claimant to any other benefits).

On November 12, 2009, Ms. Suguitan filed a claim for a payment from the FVECF, listing her deceased husband, Luis Suguitan, as an eligible claimant with qualifying military service and herself as his surviving spouse. Following an unfavorable VA regional office (RO) decision, Ms. Suguitan filed an appeal with the Board. In its April 4, 2012, decision, the Board found that Luis Sugui-tan had qualifying military service under section 1002(d) and thus was an “eligible person” for purposes of payment from the fund. However, the Board denied the claim because Luis Suguitan, having died prior to the enactment of section 1002, did not file a claim thereunder. Ms. Su-guitan filed a timely Notice of Appeal with the Court on May 21, 2012. In her pro se brief, she conceded that FVECF benefits “are applied only to the living veteran,” but argued that section 1002 violated constitutional equal protection guarantees by discriminating against surviving spouses of veterans who died before the law was enacted. While her claim was pending at the Court, she died.

On April 14, 2014, Benedicto Suguitan, the appellant’s son, filed through counsel a motion for substitution of party under Rule 43(a) of this Court’s Rules of Practice and Procedure and the decision in Padgett v. Nicholson, 473 F.3d 1364 (Fed.Cir.2007) (holding that this Court may, upon substitution of a party for a deceased appellant, issue a nunc pro tunc order dated prior to the appellant’s death). He contends that, if substitution were granted, it would be appropriate for the Court to issue a favor *117 able nunc pro tunc order as to the Board’s denial of Ms. Suguitan’s claim for an FVECF payment, dated prior to Ms. Su-guitan’s death. He argues that such an order would allow Ms. Suguitan’s estate to collect the FVECF payment owed to Ms. Suguitan at the time of her death and that he would thereby benefit as a beneficiary of the estate by virtue of his familial relationship.

The Secretary opposes the motion to substitute, arguing that Benedicto lacks standing because he cannot show that he was adversely affected by the Board’s decision. He contends that Benedicto is not a person designated by Congress as eligible for an FVECF payment potentially owed to either veteran Luis Suguitan or to his surviving spouse, Ms. Suguitan, prior to their respective deaths. The Secretary emphasizes that the plain language of the statute creating the FVECF only authorizes payment to qualifying veterans and, in certain circumstances, their surviving spouses. He further emphasizes that Be-nedicto has not shown that he can recover as an “accrued benefits” claimant under 38 U.S.C. §§ 5121 and 5121A, which provide limited opportunities for certain survivors to pursue a deceased claimant’s entitlement to VA benefits. The Secretary argues alternatively that Benedicto’s interest is too attenuated, because, inter alia, he has not demonstrated that he is a beneficiary of Ms. Suguitan’s estate, having failed to inform the Court whether she died intestate.

II. ANALYSIS

This Court may, in its discretion, allow a third party to substitute for an appellant who dies during the pendency of an appeal. Rule 43(a)(2) of this Court’s Rules of Practice and Procedure provides as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
27 Vet. App. 114, 2014 U.S. Vet. App. LEXIS 1817, 2014 WL 5463947, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simona-suguitan-v-robert-a-mcdonald-cavc-2014.