Edwin Colon-Rivera v. Shinseki

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________ EDWIN COLON-RIVERA, Claimant-Appellant, v. Eric K. Shinseki, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, Respondent-Appellee. ______________________ 2012-7110 ______________________ Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in No. 10-3060, Judge Alan G. Lance Sr. ______________________ Decided: April 12, 2013 ______________________ KENNETH M. CARPENTER, Carpenter, Chartered, of Topeka, Kansas, argued for claimant-appellant. K. ELIZABETH WITWER, Trial Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Depart- ment of Justice, of Washington, DC, argued for respond- ent-appellee. With her on the brief were STUART F. DELERY, Acting Assistant Attorney General, JEANNE E. DAVIDSON, Director, and MARTIN F. HOCKEY, JR., Assis- 2 EDWIN COLON-RIVERA v. SHINSEKI tant Director. Of counsel on the brief were DAVID J. BARRANS, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, and AMANDA R. BLACKMON, Attorney, United States Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs, of Washington, DC. ______________________ Before MOORE, CLEVENGER, and REYNA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM . Edwin Colon-Rivera appeals from the final decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). The CAVC upheld the finding by the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) that the Department of Veterans Admin- istration (VA) satisfied its duty to assist Mr. Colon-Rivera in developing his claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A. Mr. Colon-Rivera challenges that finding on appeal. We conclude that we lack jurisdiction over Mr. Colon-Rivera’s appeal. Our jurisdiction over CAVC appeals is strictly limited by statute. We have jurisdiction over “all relevant ques- tions of law, including interpreting constitutional and statutory provisions.” 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(1). We lack jurisdiction, however, over any “challenge to a factual determination” or “challenge to a law or regulation as applied to the facts of a particular case” absent a constitu- tional issue. 38 U.S.C. § 7292(d)(2). A determination that the VA satisfied its duty to as- sist in a particular case is generally a finding of fact. See DeLaRosa v. Peake, 515 F.3d 1319, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2008); Garrison v. Nicholson, 494 F.3d 1366, 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Here, the Board found that the VA satisfied its duty to assist and that “additional development efforts would serve no useful purpose.” J.A. 148. The CAVC upheld this finding. J.A. 5. In light of this decision, we need not address the issue of waiver. We thus lack juris- diction over Mr. Colon-Rivera’s appeal. EDWIN COLON-RIVERA v. SHINSEKI 3 DISMISSED