Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Lebene Konan alleged that USPS mail carrier Raymond Rojas and Postmaster Jason Drake intentionally refused to deliver mail to two rental properties she owns in Euless, Texas because of racial animus. She asserted state-law claims for nuisance, tortious interference with prospective business relations, conversion, and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. She also brought equal-protection claims against Rojas and Drake under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1985.
The district court dismissed all claims with prejudice. The Fifth Circuit initially reversed the dismissal of the FTCA claims, reasoning that the FTCA’s postal exception did not cover intentional nondelivery, while affirming dismissal of the statutory civil-rights claims. The Supreme Court vacated that judgment and held that 28 U.S.C. § 2680(b) covers suits against the United States for intentional nondelivery of mail, leaving the Fifth Circuit to determine whether all of Konan’s claims were barred and which arguments she had preserved.
The Court’s Holding
On remand, the Fifth Circuit held that Konan’s four pleaded FTCA claims were properly dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Konan conceded that her state-law tort claims against the United States, which were based on respondeat superior, fell within the postal exception, and the court agreed.
The court also reaffirmed dismissal of Konan’s §§ 1981 and 1985 claims against Rojas and Drake because the Supreme Court’s decision did not disturb the Fifth Circuit’s prior analysis of those claims. It declined to consider Konan’s newly raised theory that the United States was directly liable for negligent supervision or her request to amend the complaint to plead that theory, and it expressed no view on the theory’s merits.
The Fifth Circuit nevertheless modified the judgment because a jurisdictional dismissal based on retained sovereign immunity must be without prejudice. It therefore affirmed the district court’s judgment as modified to make the dismissal of the FTCA claims without prejudice.
Key Takeaways
- The FTCA’s postal exception barred Konan’s pleaded tort claims arising from USPS employees’ alleged intentional nondelivery of mail.
- The Fifth Circuit reaffirmed dismissal of the §§ 1981 and 1985 claims against the individual USPS employees.
- Because the FTCA dismissal rested on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, it had to be entered without prejudice rather than with prejudice.
- The court did not decide whether a newly filed negligent-supervision claim could survive the defenses available to the United States.
Why It Matters
The decision applies the Supreme Court’s determination that the postal exception encompasses intentional nondelivery and confirms that claims falling within the exception must be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. It also underscores that a court lacking jurisdiction cannot enter a merits-preclusive dismissal with prejudice.
The modification leaves Konan free to file a new action asserting any claim she can support, potentially including negligent supervision, but the Fifth Circuit gave no indication that such a claim would be viable.