Castillo v. Shulkin

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________ IGNACIO E. CASTILLO, JR., Claimant-Appellant v. DAVID J. SHULKIN, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, Respondent-Appellee ______________________ 2016-1539 ______________________ Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in No. 14-1498, Judge Robert N. Davis. ______________________ Decided: April 10, 2017 ______________________ KENNETH M. CARPENTER, Law Offices of Carpenter Chartered, Topeka, KS, argued for claimant-appellant. MOLLIE LENORE FINNAN, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for respondent-appellee. Also represented by BENJAMIN C. MIZER, ROBERT E. KIRSCHMAN, JR., MARTIN F. HOCKEY; BRIAN D. GRIFFIN, CHRISTINA LYNN GREGG, Office of General Counsel, Unit- 2 CASTILLO v. SHULKIN ed States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC. ______________________ Before LOURIE, MOORE, and HUGHES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM. Ignacio E. Castillo, Jr. (“Castillo”) appeals from a final decision of the United States Court of Appeals for Veter- ans Claims (“Veterans Court”) affirming the Board of Veterans’ Appeals’ (“the Board”) decision granting him a 30% initial disability rating. See Ignacia E. Castillo, Jr. v. Robert A. McDonald, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, No. 14-1498, 2015 WL 6605543 (Vet. App. Oct. 30, 2015). The scope of our review in an appeal from the Veter- ans Court is limited. We may review the validity of a decision with respect to a rule of a law or interpretation of a statute or regulation that was relied upon by the Veter- ans Court in making its decision. 38 U.S.C. § 7292(a) (2002). Except with respect to constitutional issues, this Court “may not review (A) a challenge to a factual deter- mination, or (B) a challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case.” Id. at § 7292(d)(2). Despite Castillo’s attempts to frame his arguments as legal challenges, his appeal, at its core, seeks to imper- missibly challenge the Board’s application of law to the facts of his case. Thus, the appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. DISMISSED