(CN) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to determine whether the U.S. Postal Service can be held liable if found to have intentionally not delivered mail to a designated address.
In its petition for writ of certiorari, the Postal Service said a federal appeals court was wrong in concluding that it cannot be shielded against lawsuits accusing it of intentional misconduct.
The Federal Tort Claims Act generally waives sovereign immunity for suits seeking damages for lost property caused by a federal employee’s “negligent or wrongful act of omission,” holding the government accountable to the same standard as a private person.
However, one of the act’s 13 exceptions preserves the federal government’s immunity for any claim arising out of “the loss, miscarriage, or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter.”
