Missing Mail Mystery: Landmark Case Challenges Postal Service Exemption

A landmark case involving a Texas landlord and the US Postal Service is set to challenge the agency's exemption from the Federal Tort Claims Act. The case, now before the US Supreme Court, questions whether the exemption applies when postal workers deliberately fail to deliver mail.

The US Postal Service faces a landmark legal challenge that could alter its longstanding protection against lawsuits over lost mail. A Texas landlord claims her mail was deliberately withheld, sparking a Supreme Court case that threatens to open the floodgates for similar actions.

The case questions whether the postal exemption under the Federal Tort Claims Act applies when postal employees intentionally fail to deliver mail. Concerns mount as the postal service warns of potential litigation deluge amid the busy holiday season.

While the district court initially sided with the Postal Service, an appellate court found the case didn't fit the Postal Service's claimed exemptions. The Supreme Court's decision, expected next year, could reshape future legal battles over missing mail.

(With inputs from agencies.)