Dolan V. Usps

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| Dolan v. United States Postal Service | United States Supreme Court | | | DOLAN v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE The plaintiff, Barbara Dolan was allegedly injured by tripping over packages, letters, and periodicals that were negligently placed on her porch by a United States Postal Service employee. After exhausting her administrative remedies, Dolan filed a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act in the U.S. District court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Dolan v. United States Postal Service, 2004). The United States Postal Service filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction citing the statute covering the Federal Torts Claim Act (28 U.S.C. S 2680(b). This Act provides a limited waiver of the federal government’s (or in this case the USPS) sovereign immunity when the employees are negligent within the scope of their employment. Barbara Dolan appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court and they held the judgment of the District Court. Dolan argued that section 2680(b) does not include the exception for the negligent delivery or placing of the mail. The Supreme Court stated that the accident was incidental to the postal worker placing the mail on her doorstep, and without knowing how the mail is retrieved by the third party; Dolan’s accident was merely incidental and unavoidable, therefore holding the judgment of the District Court to dismiss the case. Dolan v. United States Postal Service is a case that may have substantial effects on both the Federal government and on all people that collect mail in the United States. The main issue in this case is whether the immunity of the Federal Tort Claims Act, providing that claims that arise out of the “negligent transmission” of mail by USPS employees, applies broadly to include claims of personal injury, or if it is more restricted and applies only to claims

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