The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims reviews a proposed class settlement in Freund v. Collins. The class covers VA claimants whose legacy appeal files were closed in VACOLS between December 12, 1990, and February 6, 2025, for lacking a timely substantive appeal and remain closed. Under the proposal, VA would manually review all 28,258 files flagged as likely to contain timely appeals, reactivate qualifying appeals, and let other class members request review. As many as 64,599 additional files would receive individualized notice. The court will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

Mark Freund, et al. v. Douglas A. Collins (No. 21-4168) — United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, argued August 13, 2026.

Sources

Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):
https://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/Freund(Rule%2023(e)(2)%20Hearing).MP3

Argument listing — U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims:
https://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/oral_arguments_audio.php?fullsite=yes

Public docket — Freund v. Collins, No. 21-4168:
https://efiling.uscourts.cavc.gov/cmecf/servlet/TransportRoom?servlet=CaseSummary.jsp&caseNum=21-4168&incOrigDkt=Y&incDktEntries=Y

Class-certification and fairness-hearing order — Veterans Court:
https://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/FreundM_21-4168.pdf

Proposed settlement agreement — Veterans Court docket:
https://efiling.uscourts.cavc.gov/docs1/012012108535

Proposed-settlement notice — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:
https://news.va.gov/146172/notice-proposed-settlement-substantive-appeals/

Fairness-hearing notice — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:
https://news.va.gov/147326/freund-v-collins-fairness-hearing-scheduled/