Allen Clifford Smith v. DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs

NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
ALLEN CLIFFORD SMITH,
Claimant-Appellant
v.
DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs,
Respondent-Appellee
______________________
2025-2055
______________________
Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for
Veterans Claims in No. 24-704, Judge Grant Jaquith.
______________________
ON MOTION
______________________
Before REYNA, BRYSON, and STARK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
O R D E R
In response to the court’s show cause order, the Secre-
tary of Veterans Affairs urges dismissal of this appeal as
untimely. Allen Clifford Smith has not responded to the
order but has submitted his informal opening brief and a
motion to “give In Person Live testimony.” ECF No. 8 at 2.
Case: 25-2055 Document: 10 Page: 1 Filed: 12/29/2025

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SMITH v. COLLINS 2
Mr. Smith appealed the decision of the Board of Veter-
ans’ Appeals denying an earlier effective date for his ser-
vice-connected disability. On May 22, 2025, the United
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims entered judg-
ment affirming the Board’s decision. On June 20, 2025, Mr.
Smith moved to extend the time to seek reconsideration at
the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which was de-
nied July 1, 2025. On July 25, 2025, the Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims received his notice of appeal.
This court lacks jurisdiction under 38 U.S.C. § 7292(a)
to hear Mr. Smith’s appeal from the judgment of the Court
of Appeals for Veterans Claims because his appeal from
that judgment was untimely. Like appeals from district
courts, the statutorily prescribed time for filing appeals
from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is jurisdic-
tional. See Wagner v. Shinseki, 733 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed.
Cir. 2013); see also Henderson v. Shinseki, 562 U.S. 428,
438–39 (2011) (“Because the time for taking an appeal from
a district court to a court of appeals in a civil case has long
been understood to be jurisdictional, th[e] language [of
§ 7292(a)] clearly signals an intent to impose the same re-
strictions on appeals from the [Court of Appeals for Veter-
ans Claims] to the Federal Circuit.” (citation omitted)). To
be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed “within the time
and in the manner prescribed for appeal” from a district
court to a court of appeals, which, as relevant here, is 60
days after the judgment. § 7292(a); see 28 U.S.C. § 2107(b);
see also Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B); Fed. Cir. R. 1(a)(1)(D).
Mr. Smith filed his appeal 64 days after the judgment,
which is outside that jurisdictional deadline.1
1 While the appeal was filed within 60 days from the
order denying Mr. Smith’s motion to extend the time to
seek reconsideration, he fails to raise any challenge to that
order in his informal opening brief.
Case: 25-2055 Document: 10 Page: 2 Filed: 12/29/2025

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SMITH v. COLLINS 3
Mr. Smith’s motion to extend the time to request recon-
sideration at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims did
not toll the time to appeal the final judgment. Under the
applicable rules, a motion for reconsideration “shall be filed
not later than 21 days . . . after the date of the dispositive
action for which reconsideration, panel review, or full
Court review is sought.” Rule 35(d) of the Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. Mr.
Smith’s motion, to the extent he was seeking reconsidera-
tion, was filed 29 days after the date of the decision and
after judgment had already been issued. That was too late
to toll. See Nastor v. Nicholson, 153 F. App’x 735, 735 (Fed.
Cir. 2005) (noting “motion for reconsideration was un-
timely under [that court’s] rules and did not toll the time
for filing an appeal”); cf. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4).
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The appeal is dismissed.
(2) All pending motions are denied.
(3) Each side shall bear its own costs.
December 29, 2025
Date
FOR THE COURT
Case: 25-2055 Document: 10 Page: 3 Filed: 12/29/2025

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