Supreme Court Rules for Postal Service in Mail Delivery Dispute

Federal law shields the US Postal Service from liability when carriers refuse to deliver mail, a divided Supreme Court ruled.

The 5-4 opinion on Tuesday reverses the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which allowed Lebene Kanon to sue the agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Konan claims USPS employees refused to deliver mail to her and her tenants because she is Black.

The ruling maintains the FTCA’s postal service exception, which bars most lawsuits against USP except for “loss, miscarriage or negligent transmission.”

The court previously held in Dolan v. United States that the exception doesn’t cover personal injury claims caused by negligently placed mail.

Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said Congress could’ve written the exception to apply only in cases of loss, miscarriage or negligence—but didn’t. Instead, he said, Congress applied it to “all claims[s]” arising out of them.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined Thomas in the majority, as did Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Konan, a realtor and property owner, sued USPS over a “years-long campaign of racial harassment” at buildings she owned in Euless, Texas. Konan claimed two postal workers, upset that a Black woman owned the properties, repeatedly refused to deliver mail and changed a mailbox lock so only one of her white tenants could access it. She alleged the local postmaster encouraged his subordinates in the campaign.

A federal judge in the Northern District of Texas dismissed Konan’s lawsuit, finding her claims were barred under the FTCA by sovereign immunity. The Fifth Circuit unanimously reversed.

The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to take the case, warning that upholding the Fifth Circuit’s ruling could lead to a wave of lawsuits against USPS.

The ruling repairs a split among appellate courts caused by the Fifth Circuit’s opinion. Every other circuit to consider the issue had found the FTCA bars claims such as Konan’s.

The case is United States Postal Service v. Konan, U.S., No. 24-351, decided on 2/24/26.