William R. Ferguson, Claimant-Appellant v. Anthony J. Principi, Sec'y of Vets. Affairs, 273 F.3d 1072 (Fed. Cir. 2001). · Go Syfert
William R. Ferguson, Claimant-Appellant v. Anthony J. Principi, Sec'y of Vets. Affairs, 273 F.3d 1072 (Fed. Cir. 2001). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
60 citation events (60 in the last 25 years) across 5 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Bufkin v. Collins (scotus, 2025-03-05)
Treatment trajectory · 2001 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2001 2013 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 29 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Bufkin v. Collins
SCOTUS · 2025 · confidence medium
Although veterans may appeal certain legal issues to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Cir- cuit, see §7292, that court has held that it lacks jurisdiction to review most factual determinations, including whether the VA properly applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule in in- dividual cases, see Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F. 3d 1072, 1076 (2001).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Watson v. Wilkie
Fed. Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
To the extent Mr. Watson seeks review of the Board’s determination of the effective date for his service-con- nected ALS, see Appellant’s Br. 4 (arguing that “the VA as- sessment” of his ALS “is not factual” and “inaccurate, Case: 20-1380 Document: 21 Page: 5 Filed: 06/12/2020 WATSON v. WILKIE 5 weak, and inadequate justification for denial” of an earlier effective date), 5 (arguing that the VA’s consideration of “different variations of ALS” and their effects are an “irra- tional and weak justification for denial”), he raises an issue of law as applied to fact that w…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Clayton v. Wilkie
Fed. Cir. · 2019 · confidence medium
Cir. 1999) (no ju- risdiction to review whether the duty to assist was breached in a particular case because it involves applica- tion of law to fact); Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Anderson v. Shulkin
Fed. Cir. · 2017 · confidence medium
Finally, we lack jurisdiction to review the Veterans Appeals Court’s conclusion that the Board correctly determined that the evidence was not in equipoise, See Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075 (Fed.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Thompson v. McDonald
Fed. Cir. · 2014 · confidence medium
Fagan v. Shinseki, 573 F.3d 1282, 1287 (Fed.Cir.2009); Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075 (Fed.Cir.2001) (“Thus the evidence was not in equipoise but rather preponderated against [the veteran’s] claim.
cited Cited as authority (rule) Deflanders v. Gibson
Fed. Cir. · 2014 · confidence medium
See 38 U.S.C. § 7292 (a), (d)(2); Newhouse v. Nicholson, 497 F.3d 1298, 1302 (Fed.Cir.2007); Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1074-75 (Fed.Cir.2001).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Githens v. SHINSEKI
Fed. Cir. · 2012 · confidence medium
Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075 (Fed.Cir.2001).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Anderson v. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs (2×)
Fed. Cir. · 2011 · confidence medium
The doctrine, therefore, “only applies when there is ‘an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence.’ ” Ferguson v. Principi 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Stevens v. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs
Fed. Cir. · 2011 · confidence medium
Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001) (stating that § 5107(b) was “unambiguous on its face” and that the application of the statute to the facts of a veteran’s claim is outside this court’s jurisdiction).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Sateren v. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs
Fed. Cir. · 2011 · confidence medium
Waltzer v. Nicholson, 447 F.3d 1378, 1380 (Fed.Cir.2006) (challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence are beyond the authority of this court to review); Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001) (a finding that the evidence is not in equipoise for the benefit-of-the-doubt provision, 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b), “involves no interpretation of the statute,” and is beyond the authority of this court to review).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Shultz v. Peake
Fed. Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
This court lacks jurisdiction to “review any challenge to a factual determination or any challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case.” Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1334 (Fed.Cir.2006) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1074-75 (Fed.Cir.2001).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Miller v. Nicholson
Fed. Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1074-75 (Fed.Cir.2001).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) American Heritage Bancorp v. United States
Fed. Cl. · 2002 · confidence medium
In support of its position, the FDIC points to the Federal Circuit’s amended opinion in Glass, in which the Federal Circuit stated that, “While any net recovery by the FDIC would be distributed to creditors under the statutory scheme applicable to the Security receivership, in this case FRF-RTC has priority over all other creditors under this statutory scheme.” Glass, 273 F.3d at 1072 (emphasis added).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Castle v. United States
Fed. Cir. · 2002 · confidence medium
Bank, F.S.B. v. United States, 266 F.3d 1348 (Fed.Cir.2001); Glass v. United States, 258 F.3d 1349 (Fed.Cir.2001), amended on reh'g 273 F.3d at 1072 (Fed.Cir.2001); Landmark Land Co., v. Fed.
cited Cited as authority (rule) Castle v. United States
Fed. Cir. · 2002 · confidence medium
Bank, F.S.B. v. United States, 266 F.3d 1348 (Fed.Cir.2001); Glass v. United States, 258 F.3d 1349 (Fed.Cir.2001), amended on reh’g 273 F.3d at 1072 (Fed.Cir.2001); Landmark Land Co., v. Fed.
discussed Cited "see" Soodeen v. McDonough
Fed. Cir. · 2023 · signal: see · confidence high
See Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.
cited Cited "see" Johnson v. Gibson
Fed. Cir. · 2014 · signal: see · confidence high
See Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001).
cited Cited "see" Mathis v. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs
Fed. Cir. · 2012 · signal: see · confidence high
Id.; see Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075-76 (Fed.Cir.2001).
cited Cited "see" Harlston v. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs
Fed. Cir. · 2012 · signal: see · confidence high
See Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075-76 (Fed.Cir.2001).
cited Cited "see" Mattress v. Dept. Of Veterans Affairs
Fed. Cir. · 2011 · signal: see · confidence high
Id.; see Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075-76 (Fed.Cir.2001).
cited Cited "see" Campbell v. Shinseki
Fed. Cir. · 2010 · signal: see · confidence high
See Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001).
discussed Cited "see" Thacker v. Mansfield
Fed. Cir. · 2007 · signal: see · confidence high
See Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Lea v. United States
Fed. Cl. · 2016 · signal: see also · confidence low
In the Federal Circuit’s decision in Lea II. which considered plaintiffs appeal of Judge Allegra’s decision in Lea I , the Federal Circuit explained that, following its decision in Montana v. United States, 124 F.3d 1269, 1273 (Fed.Cir.1997), “ [[i]n order to prove third-party beneficiary status, a party must demonstrate that the contract not only reflects the express or implied intention to benefit the party, but that it reflects an intention to benefit the party directly.’ ” Lea II, 592 Fed.Appx. at 934 (quoting Montana v. United States, 124 F.3d at 1273 ) (modification in original…
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Rodriguez v. McDonald
Fed. Cir. · 2015 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence medium
See, e.g., Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001) (“Because it is clear that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims merely applied the statute to the facts, its decision falls outside our jurisdiction under the express terms of 38 U.S.C. § 7292 (d)(2).”); Madden v. Gober, 125 F.3d 1477, 1480 (Fed.Cir.1997) (This court’s jurisdiction is “restricted to entertaining appeals that seek review of the validity of any statute or regulation, or any interpretations thereof, or that raise constitutional controversies.”).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Duncan v. Shinseki
Fed. Cir. · 2014 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence medium
See, e.g., Ferguson v. Principi 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001) (holding that “[w]hen ... a statute is unambiguous on its face, the parties do not argue for differing interpretations, and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims opinion is silent on adopting a particular statutory construction, the only logical conclusion is that the statute was not being interpreted, only applied”); 38 U.S.C. § 7292 (d)(2).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Reitz v. Shinseki
Fed. Cir. · 2014 · signal: see also · confidence medium
See also Stevens v. Shinseki, 428 Fed.Appx. 979, 981 (Fed.Cir.2011) (“This court does not have jurisdiction to consider the proper weight of the evidence, and therefore does not have jurisdiction to consider the application of § 5107(b) to the facts of a veteran’s claim.”) (citing Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001)); Adams v. Principi, 91 Fed.Appx. 135, 136-37 (Fed.Cir.2004) (holding that this Court is without jurisdiction to review “the application of the ‘benefit of the doubt’ rule to the Appellant’s specific set of facts.”). 2 CONCLUSION Because each o…
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Hinton v. Shinseki
Fed. Cir. · 2014 · signal: see also · confidence medium
See 38 U.S.C. § 7292 (d)(2); see also Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1076 (Fed.Cir.2001) (finding no jurisdiction over a challenge that the Veterans Court “misinterpreted § 5107(b) because it affirmed the Board’s holding that § 5107(b) did not apply”).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Fagan v. Shinseki (2×)
Fed. Cir. · 2009 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence medium
The doctrine, however, is not applicable based on “pure speculation or remote, possibility” and “is not a means of reconciling actual conflict or a contradiction in the evidence.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.102 . 2 In addition, the “benefit of the doubt” doctrine has “no application where the Board determines that the preponderance of the evidence weighs against the veteran’s claim” or when the evidence is not in “equipoise.” Ortiz v. Principi, 274 F.3d 1361, 1366 (Fed.Cir.2001); see, e.g., Ferguson v. Principi, 273 F.3d 1072, 1075 (Fed.Cir.2001) (“Thus the evidence was not in equi…
discussed Cited "see, e.g." Dureiko v. United States
Fed. Cl. · 2004 · signal: see also · confidence low
Co. v. Home Water Supply Co., 226 U.S. 220, 230 , 33 S.Ct. 32 , 57 L.Ed. 195 (1912); see also Glass v. United States, 258 F.3d 1349, 1354 (Fed.Cir.2001) (“In order to prove third party beneficiary status, a party must demonstrate that the contract not only reflects the express or implied intention to benefit the party, but that it reflects an intention to benefit the party directly.”), amended by, 273 F.3d 1072 (Fed.Cir.2001); Montana v. United States, 124 F.3d 1269, 1273 (Fed.Cir.1997); Slattery v. United States, 35 Fed.Cl. 180, 184 (1996) (“[I]n order for a third party to have standing…
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
William R. FERGUSON, Claimant-Appellant,
v.
Anthony J. PRINCIPI, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Respondent-Appellee
01-7012.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Dec 4, 2001.
273 F.3d 1072
Kenneth M. Carpenter, Carpenter, Chartered, of Topeka, Kansas, for claimant-appellant., William L. Olsen, Trial Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, for respondent-appellee. With him on the brief were Stuart E. Schiffer, Acting Assistant Attorney General; David M. Cohen, Director; and Kathryn A. Bleecker, Assistant Director. Of counsel on the brief were Richard J. Hipolit, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, and Y. Ken Lee, Attorney, Department of Veterans Affairs, of Washington, DC.
Michel, Rader, Schall.
Cited by 24 opinions  |  Published
Reporter's Syllabus — editorial summary, not part of the Court's opinion

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Judge William P. Greene, Jr.

Kenneth M. Carpenter, Carpenter, Chartered, of Topeka, Kansas, for claimant-appellant.

William L. Olsen, Trial Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, for respondent-appellee. With him on the brief were Stuart E. Schiffer, Acting Assistant Attorney General; David M. Cohen, Director; and Kathryn A. Bleecker, Assistant Director. Of counsel on the brief were Richard J. Hipolit, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, and Y. Ken Lee, Attorney, Department of Veterans Affairs, of Washington, DC.

Before MICHEL, RADER and SCHALL, Circuit Judges.

MICHEL, Circuit Judge.

Lead Opinion

MICHEL, Circuit Judge.

William Ferguson appeals the September 15, 2000, decision of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, No. 98-637, affirming the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (“Board”) decision which denied his claim and holding that 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) did not apply because the Board correctly found that the probative evidence against Mr. Ferguson’s claim outweighed the probative evidence supporting the claim. Section 5107(b) applies only if the evidence for and against the claim is in “approximate balance.” Thus, that section did not need interpretation, for on its plain meaning it was held inapplicable. Because it included no interpretation of any ambiguity in statutory language, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims decision was no more than an application of law to the facts. Therefore, under 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2), we cannot review the decision but must dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Background

Ferguson served in the U.S. Marine Corps from August 1953 through August 1956. While on active duty, Ferguson fell off a fire truck, hitting his head and losing consciousness.

In April 1989, Mr. Ferguson submitted a claim for service connection for residuals from that head injury. In April 1990, the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional[*1074] Office (“RO”) denied the claim. The Board affirmed in October 1991, and in April 1993, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims remanded with instructions for additional fact-finding. In May 1995, the Board held a hearing, and in March 1996, the Board remanded with instructions to the RO to provide a special psychiatric exam. The RO did so and again denied the claim. In March 1998, the Board held that because “the probative evidence against the appellant’s claim outweighs the probative evidence supporting it, the Board finds that service connection for residuals of a head injury is not warranted.” Board of Veterans’ Appeals, No. 91-24-079, at 28 (Mar. 81, 1998). Therefore, the Board held 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) was inapplicable because “the evidence is not in relative equipoise.” Id.

On appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Mr. Ferguson argued, among other things, that he was denied the benefit of the doubt afforded by § 5107(b). On September 15, 2000, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims affirmed the Board. Mr. Ferguson timely appealed. Our jurisdiction can only rest upon 38 U.S.C. §§ 7292(a), (c), or (d)(1).

Discussion

I.

Unless an appeal presents a constitutional issue, this court may not review a challenge to a “factual determination” or to “the application of a law or regulation to the facts of a particular case.” See 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2) (emphasis added). Mr. Ferguson’s two contentions on appeal are that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims misinterpreted 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) and 38 U.S.C. § 105(a).

Counsel for the claimant concedes, however, that § 105(a) was neither raised by him nor addressed by the court below. The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims opinion did not discuss § 105(a). The opinion merely explains that in order to invoke the service-connection presumption, a veteran must prove a current disability. See Ferguson v. Gober, No. 98-637, slip op. at 4 (Ct.App.Vet.Cl. Sept. 15, 2000). The fact of current disability, however, has nothing to do with whether the injury causing the disability occurred in service, as opposed to subsequently. Therefore, whether service connection must be presumed was not even implicated in the court’s analysis. Thus, we can confidently deduce that the court made no interpretation of § 105(a).

Mr. Ferguson also argues that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims erred by interpreting 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) to limit the weighing of evidence to “probative evidence” only, rather than all the evidence. But, as is evident from its opinion, the court did not interpret § 5107(b); it merely applied the statute. The statute requires only that all the evidence and material of record be “considered,” see 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b), and the court’s opinion makes clear in its conclusion that the Board did consider all of it. See Ferguson v. Gober, slip op. at 4-5. The Board simply found that at least some of the evidence was not probative, and that it therefore had no impact on the balancing of positive and negative evidence. Board of Veterans’ Appeals, No. 91-24-079, at 28.

The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims concluded that the Board was correct in evaluating whether each piece of evidence is probative before weighing it, either separately or against other evidence. See Madden v. Gober, 125 F.3d 1477, 1481 (Fed.Cir.1997) (stating that the Board has a duty to “analyze the credibility and probative value of evidence sua sponte, when making its factual findings”). After reviewing the Board’s decision, the[*1075] court stated that “the Board concluded that the probative evidence against Mr. Ferguson’s claim outweighed the probative evidence supporting the claim. Thus the evidence was not in equipoise but rather preponderated against his claim. Therefore, the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine was not applicable.” Ferguson v. Gober, slip op. at 5-6. This text not only establishes that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims did not interpret the statute explicitly, but also precludes any inference that it did so implicitly. According to 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b):

[t]he Secretary shall consider all information and lay and medical evidence of record in a case before the Secretary with respect to benefits under laws administered by the Secretary. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant.

The language of § 5107(b) is unambiguous and Mr. Ferguson did not argue otherwise. That is, he did not point to any ambiguous term and urge one of several plausible interpretations as the correct one. Accordingly, there was nothing for the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to interpret. It merely accepted the Board’s finding that there was no “approximate balance” and the holding that the statute therefore did not apply. Nowhere in the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims opinion is there a suggestion of statutory interpretation. While citations to § 5107(b) appear four times in the seven-page opinion, each merely paraphrases the statutory language, without interpretation.

II.

There has been much litigation, including en banc, over 38 U.S.C. § 7292 involving what “any interpretation ... relied on” ((a)); “any interpretation [of a statute or regulation] ... presented and necessary to a decision” ((c)); and “any interpretation ... relied upon” ((d)(1)) mean.[1] We need not address what these phrases, mean or whether they have any jurisdictional effect, for we know that an “interpretation” cannot mean the mere application of a statute or regulation to the facts of a case:

[ejxcept to the extent that an appeal under this chapter presents a constitutional issue, the Court of Appeals [for the Federal Circuit] 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) (emphasis added). Any interpretation of § 7292 that would permit this court to consider a non-constitutional challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts would nullify subsection (d)(2).

Section 7292(d)(2) is as clear as it is explicit. Our jurisprudence, therefore, has mostly repeated rather than explained this rule. See, e.g., Bustos v. West, 179 F.3d 1378, 1380 (Fed.Cir.1999) (“[W]e may not review a challenge to a factual determination or a challenge to a law or regulation[*1076] as applied to the facts of a particular case.”)- The provision’s legislative history-makes its terms even clearer. During the debates about the bill that became the statute, Sen. Murkowski, the Veterans Committee ranking minority member, stated, “[t]he Federal circuit [sic] cannot review whether, in a particular case, a law or regulation was applied inappropriately.” 134 Cong. Rec. 31,482; see also H.R.Rep. No. 100-963 at 9, 35, 36 (1988), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1988, 5782, 5790, 5817-5819 (“[NJeither the CAFC nor any other court would be authorized to review the facts of the appeal or the application of any law or regulation to those facts unless it is alleged that a constitutional issue is presented.... The CAFC would be prohibited from reviewing or altering any factual determination made by the CVA or the Administrator, or reviewing the application of any law or regulation to those facts, unless there is presented a constitutional issue.”) (emphasis added.)

Mr. Ferguson argues “[i]n the present case, the CAVC determined that the veteran need not be afforded the benefit of the doubt because the BVA determined that there was more credible evidence weighing against the claim than supporting the claim. Such a determination constitutes a misinterpretation of 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) because the statute requires that all evidence be considered, not just that evidence that the BVA finds to be more credible.” (Appellant’s Br. at 8.) In essence, Mr. Ferguson is arguing that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims misinterpreted § 5107(b) because it affirmed the Board’s holding that § 5107(b) did not apply. This argument is illogical and meritless. In fact, the Board considered all the evidence, then determined that the requirement that there be “an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence” was not met, meaning § 5107(b) was not applicable. This involves no interpretation of the statute. Mr. Ferguson similarly argues that “[t]he statute must be applied in the adjudication of every claim and any interpretation which deprives the veteran of the ‘benefit of the doubt rule’ is erroneous.” (Appellant’s Br. at 7.) Such a sweeping statement is wrong in equating “applied” with “interpretation.” The benefit-of-the-doubt provision only applies when there is “an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence.” Here, the Board determined there was no approximate balance and, accordingly, it could not apply § 5107(b). The court below agreed, and it was correct.

When, as here, a statute is unambiguous on its face, the parties did not argue for differing interpretations, and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims opinion is silent on adopting a particular statutory construction, the only logical conclusion is that the statute was not being interpreted, only applied. Therefore, § 7292(d)(2) applies and subsections (a), (c), and (d)(1) do not, because there was no interpretation of the statute. Thus, under subsection (d)(2) this court does not have jurisdiction over the appeal.

Conclusion

Because it is clear that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims merely applied the statute to the facts, its decision falls outside our jurisdiction under the express terms of 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). Therefore, this appeal may not be decided on the merits but must be, and is

DISMISSED.

1

We note in passing that the distinction critical here, that between questions of law and questions of fact, does not implicate the issues pending before our en banc court in Forshey v. Principi, No. 99-7064, argued October 3, 2001, which involves only the meaning of the "relied on" language found in 38 U.S.C. § 7292(a) and related language in § 7292(c). The present appeal, by contrast, deals only with the application of law or regulation to the facts of a particular case, the review of which is expressly prohibited by 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). In Forshey, furthermore, neither the questions that we ordered the parties to brief nor the oral argument by either party implicated section 7292(d)(2).

Dissent

SCHALL, Circuit Judge,

dissenting.

I express no views on either the jurisdictional issue or the merits of this ease. Rather, I respectfully dissent from the decision to decide the case at this time. In my view, proceedings in this case should[*1077] be stayed until the court issues its en banc decision in Forshey v. Principi, No. 99-7064.

On February 5, 2001, the court issued an order (i) granting the government’s petition for rehearing en banc in Forshey; (ii) vacating the judgment of the court entered in Forshey on September 20, 2000, reported at 226 F.3d 1299 (Fed.Cir.2000); and (iii) withdrawing the opinion of the court accompanying the judgment in Forshey. The February 5 order described the en banc proceedings as follows:

This court has determined to hear this case en banc in order to resolve questions concerning the jurisdiction of this court, under 38 U.S.C. § 7292 (1994), to hear appeals from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The en banc deliberations will focus on this case and on the rationale and holdings of this court in the following cases: Belcher v. West, 214 F.3d 1335 (Fed.Cir.2000); Smith v. West, 214 F.3d 1331 (Fed.Cir.2000); In re Bailey, 182 F.3d 860 (Fed.Cir.1999).

The order then proceeded to set forth four questions to be briefed by the parties in connection with the en banc proceedings. The court heard oral argument en banc in Forshey on October 3, 2001. The case is now under submission for a decision.

In this case, claimant-appellant Ferguson contends that the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims misinterpreted 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) when it affirmed the decision of the Board of Veterans Appeals denying his claim for service connection for residuals of a head injury. In dismissing Ferguson’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction, the majority takes the position that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims did not interpret § 5107(b). Rather, it states, the court only applied the statute. In my view, the question of whether, in this case, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims interpreted § 5107(b) or only applied it implicates the en banc proceedings in Forshey. In short, I believe that the decision in Forshey, whatever it turns out to be, could control the resolution of the jurisdictional issue in this case. Under these circumstances, it seems to me that the proper course is to not decide this case until Forshey is decided. For that reason, as stated above, I respectfully dissent from the decision to decide the case at this time.