Justia U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Records indicate that the veteran's knee was injured in 1949 while he was playing football with a military team. Treatment at a field hospital in Germany included x-rays that revealed no bone or joint injury. The knee was not treated again until 1999, when the veteran claimed service-related disability. X-rays at a VA clinic showed minimal degeneration consistent with osteoarthritis. On remand, for the VA's failure to assist the veteran, instructions to the VA hospital stated "NO EXAM" and indicated a file review, but did state that an exam was allowable if necessary. The Veterans' Court upheld a second denial of benefits. The Federal Circuit affirmed; the Veterans Court acted correctly in not requiring the Board to state reasons why the medical examinersâ reports were competent and sufficiently informed. The court noted that the veteran did not raise his concerns about the instructions with the Board and that it cannot review a challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case under 38 U.S.C. 7292.

The plaintiff was an "excepted" (not in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service) employee of the Veterans Canteen Service and was not preference-eligible (as a veteran or close relative). She appealed a notice of termination for misconduct. The Merit Systems Protection Board dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because she had been hired under 38 U.S.C. 7802(e). The Federal Circuit affirmed, holding that the plain language of the statute allows removal of such employees without regard to other civil service laws. Civil Service Due Process Amendments in 1990 did not extend protections to excepted, non-preference eligible employees.

Non-resident alien citizens of China sought refunds of taxes paid under the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA), 26 U.S.C. 3101, for work performed as contract workers in the Northern Mariana Islands. A corporation sought a refund of taxes paid for its contract workers in the Islands. The statutory definition of work performed in the United States contains no reference to the Islands. The Claims Court entered judgment on the pleadings in favor of the government. The Federal Circuit affirmed, noting various laws and covenants under which citizens of the Islands are to be treated as citizens of the United States. Congress intended to treat the Islands like Guam is treated for purposes of FICA and to apply both employer and employee FICA taxes to the Islands.

Following a Veterans Court remand of a claim for service benefits relating to post-traumatic stress, the veteran submitted a petition for attorney fees and expenses in the amount of $6,193. The VA found that the veteran was a prevailing party, with a net worth of less than $2,000,000, and that the VA position was not substantially justified, as required by the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. 2412, but that several billing items should be denied for lack of sufficient detail. The Veterans Court agreed and reduced the fee award by $437.50, rejecting a claim that additional detail would violate attorney-client privilege. The Federal Circuit affirmed. The Act does not abrogate privilege; its specificity requirements do not require disclosure of the exact contents of communications identified on a bill and do not violate privilege. Having been publicly filed, the general nature of the claim and documents filed are not privileged.