Godsey v. Wilkie
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
31 Vet. App. 207 (2019)
- Written by Sarah Hoffman, JD
Facts
James A Godsey and three other individuals (collectively, the veterans) (plaintiffs) had each filed disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant), had their claims rejected, and waited more than three years to have the VA certify their appeals. During a disability-claim appeal, the VA first performs a per-certification review to ensure that the record is complete, then creates a form certifying the case. In 2017, it took an average of 773 days for the VA to complete these steps. The VA then prepares the file and transfers it to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. This took an average of an additional 321 days to complete. In 2017, the veterans filed for a writ of mandamus claiming that the VA’s delay in certifying the appeals violated the veterans’ procedural due-process rights and requesting that the court certify a class action. The veterans sought to compel the VA to, within 60 days of the order, certify all cases that had been waiting at least two years. On appeal, the VA conceded that the veterans satisfied three of the requirements for a class-action suit: numerosity, typicality, and adequacy of representation.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
Dissent (Pietsch, J.)
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