Vola M. Brown v. R. James Nicholson

DAVIS, Judge:

Appellant Vola M. Brown, through counsel, appeals from a November 18, 2003, Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board or BVA) decision that denied entitlement to an effective date earlier than April 19, 2001, for her award of dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits. A three-judge panel of the Court heard oral argument on October 17, 2005. On November 14, 2006, this case was submitted to the en banc Court. On appeal, the Court must determine whether the Board erred by failing to address the effective-date provision contained in 38 C.F.R. § 3.114(a)(3) (2006), which provides…