WASHINGTON – A landlord in Texas believes postal workers refused to deliver mail to her properties because she’s Black, causing some tenants to move out and others to miss bills, medicine and other important mail.
An appeals court allowed her to sue, despite legal protections for the Postal Service for mail delivery problems.
The Supreme Court agreed April 21 to review that decision, which the federal government warned could open the door to lawsuits over the more than 300 million pieces of mail delivered each day.
The case centers on immunity protections for the U.S. Postal Service for claims “arising out of the loss, miscarriage, or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter.”
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that doesn’t cover a postal worker’s refusal to deliver the mail, which is the heart of landlord Lebene Konan’s suit.
