⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

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Burgan v. Collins — Fed. Cir. (argued September 9, 2026)

No. 25-1202 Argued September 9, 2026 Published September 14, 2026

Lance Burgan seeks to revive an appeal over the denial of total disability benefits based on individual unemployability. The Board of Veterans' Appeals denied the benefit in 2021 and mailed the decision to his lawyer's correct street address, omitting the post-office-box line from the dual address on file with Veterans Affairs. Burgan says neither he nor his lawyer received it; after the lawyer regained access to his electronic case file and found the decision in 2023, they appealed more than two years after it was issued. Federal law then allowed 120 days from mailing, not receipt, to appeal to the Veterans Court. That court presumed the agency had performed its mailing duty properly and dismissed the appeal as late. The presumption of regularity assumes official duties were performed correctly unless clear evidence proves otherwise; equitable tolling can excuse a missed deadline after an extraordinary obstacle if the filer acted diligently. The Federal Circuit considers whether the mailing presumption became proof of receipt and whether Burgan preserved a separate tolling claim. It affirmed the dismissal the next day.

Burgan v. Collins (No. 25-1202) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, argued September 9, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/oral-arguments/25-1202_09092026.mp3
Argument listing — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/home/oral-argument/listen-to-oral-arguments/
September 2026 argument calendar — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/OralArguments/PublicCalendar-September2026.pdf
Veterans Court order — Burgan v. McDonough, No. 23-7869:https://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/BurganLF_23-7869.pdf
38 U.S.C. § 7266 — U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title38-section7266
Veterans Law Journal case report — CAVC Bar Association:https://www.cavcbarassociation.org/_files/ugd/3c25be_2abaf1b7b600455592dbef9b8d4654ac.pdf
Federal Circuit judgment — Burgan v. Collins, No. 25-1202:https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions-orders/25-1202.RULE_36_JUDGMENT.9-10-2026_2753421.pdf
Lower-court docket — U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims:https://efiling.uscourts.cavc.gov/cmecf/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=CaseSummary.jsp&caseNum=23-7869&incOrigDkt=Y&incDktEntries=Y
Kenneth Dojaquez — Carpenter Chartered:https://carpenterchartered.com/our-team/

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