January 2026 - Federal Circuit

Featuring: Holstein v. Collins and Young v. Collins

Holstein v. Collins 23-1451 | Decided January 30, 2026

Veteran, Lester L. Dean, sought service connection for his neck disability and was eventually granted service connection for the neck disability, PTSD, and Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) resulting from the claim. The Court held the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) did not err in denying Ms. Holmes’ request for additional attorneys’ fees relating to his PTSD claim which she argued was a part of the work she did for Mr. Dean’s neck claim. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit agreed with the Court and held that Mr. Dean’s neck claim and PTSD were not related to the same “case” and as a result Ms. Holmes was not entitled to collect additional attorneys’ fees pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 5904.

Young v. Collins 24-1833 | Decided January 13, 2026

Mr. Young sought to vacate a 1999 Board of Veterans’ appeals (Board) decision pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.1000(a) alleging his due process rights had been violated. The Board denied the motion and Mr. Young appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). The Court dismissed the appeal finding in part that although the appeal was timely as to the vacatur denial, that denial was not an appealable decision. Mr. Young appealed to the Federal Circuit arguing that the vacatur denial is an appealable decision. The Federal Circuit, citing Harms v. Nicholson, 489 F.3d 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007), affirmed the Court’s dismissal finding a motion to vacate is not itself reviewable and a “holding of reviewability…would effectively subject the 120-day time bar of 38 U.S.C. § 7266 to a ‘proviso’ that, as to an allegation of due process error, reads: ‘judicial review may be sought at any time.’”