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Scates v. Principi

Where veterans benefits plaintiff discharged contingent fee attorney before case was completed, attorney could recover only so much in fees as fairly and accurately reflected attorney's contribution to final benefits award.

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Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Former Chief Judge Frank Q. Nebeker

A lawyer who formerly represented a veteran in his claim before the Department of Veterans Affairs (“Department”) for benefits seeks twenty percent of the past benefits the Department awarded the veteran. His claim is based upon his retainer agreement with the veteran providing that amount as the lawyer’s fees. During the proceedings before the Department, however, the veteran terminated the lawyer’s representation and substituted a veterans organization, which pursued the case to its successful conclusion.

The question before us is which component of the Department — the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (“Board”) or the Regional Office — should decide initially the lawyer’s claim. The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (“Veterans Court”) held that the Board has jurisdiction to determine only the reasonableness of (but not the lawyer’s entitlement to) the fee, and remanded the case to the Board to dismiss and for the Regional Office initially to determine the lawyer’s entitlement to a fee. We modify the remand order and, as modified, affirm it.

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