What Is The CAVC Court Process?
This post explains the CAVC Court process for appealing denied veterans’ disability claims. The Veterans Administration appeals process has changed significantly since 2018, but the procedure for Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) is very much the same. This federal court hears appeals from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.
Like other federal courts, the CAVC has extremely complex procedural rules. Unless the claimant has a highly-experienced VA disability appeals lawyer, it is almost impossible to successfully resolve these appeals.
What to Expect in a CAVC Appeal
This process begins with a Notice of Appeal. NOAs must be filed within 120 days of an adverse BVA decision.
If the appellant (Veteran) misses this deadline, the appellant usually loses the right to appeal. Since courts almost never grant exemptions or extensions, attention to detail is important at this stage.
Next, the CAVC issues a Notice of Docketing. The NOD gives your case official status. At this point, appellants have a case number to share with employers or anyone else who needs such information.
Along with the NOD, the CAVC usually issues a notice of a brief requirement. The brief outlines the appellant’s argument and cites legal and other authorities which support the argument. Since they have so much ground to cover, briefs are usually not very brief. They often exceed 20 pages.
Rules And Compliance
Many of the aforementioned complex rules come into play at this stage. Most federal courts have very picky rules about minute items such as footnote style, page numbering, and font size. Failure to comply with these rules could cause clerks to reject the brief.
Time is of the essence. Generally, appellants have 60 days to prepare and file briefs. That is not very much time.
In cases identified for a staff conference, the Court will schedule a conference to occur approximately 30 days prior to the date the appellant’s brief is due. No later than 14 days prior to the Staff Conference, the appellant must submit a summary of issues he or she intends to appeal. This summary is limited to 10 pages and must clearly identify the issues, while citing relevant evidence and legal authority.
The primary telephone conference participants are the appellant, the appellant’s attorney, and the VA attorney. A person from the CAVC’s Central Legal Staff moderates the conference.
Frequently, this conference resolves all the issues in an appeal. If issues are not resolved during the conference, the appeal moves forward to the next phase.
A quick side note here. There is no CAVC courtroom, at least like the courtrooms on TV. The CAVC is located in Washington, D.C., but parties never travel there. Everything is handled electronically or via telephone.
CAVC Decisions
If the CAVC considers the appeal, it generally either affirms the lower court’s judgment or remands the case. If the CAVC affirms the decision, it means that, in their opinion, the BVA did not make a mistake or the mistake did not affect the outcome of the case.
A remand means the CAVC vacates the lower court’s judgement and orders a retrial. Generally, remands include instructions to the BVA such as specifying certain evidence to consider or which legal authorities to apply.
In a few cases, the CAVC reverses the decision and orders the BVA to issue an appropriate judgement.
Team Up with Dedicated Attorneys
CAVC appeals are often the best way to get the benefits you deserve. For a free consultation with an experienced Veterans disability lawyer, contact Cameron Firm, PC at 800-861-7262 or fill out the contact box to your right. We are here to represent Veterans nationwide.
This article is for educational and marketing purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship.