This is one of those lawsuits that you just shake your head about. One
party commits an intentional bad act against the other party and keeps
on doing it. Because it's the government committing the tort, with
unlimited legal resources and no pesky shareholders to justify spending
to, they keep on fighting tooth and nail for the right to keep
committing bad acts.

And because of sovereign immunity, the government gets to decide how and
when it might be sued.

And there's the further complication that I've never understood that the plaintiff sues under state law but it gets heard in federal court.

United States Postal Service v. Konan has been granted cert by the
United States Supreme Court.

The Federal Tort Claims Act waives sovereign immunity for torts
committed by federal employees, but there's an exception for delivery of
the mail for a claim arising out of loss, miscarriage, or negligent transmission of mail.

Does "loss or miscarriage" apply to a willful act or only mail that
wasn't delivered as addressed for reasons that weren't intentional?

I haven't read the fact of the case and I have no idea why the carriers wouldn't deliver mail, or why the postmaster didn't immediately correct
the situation if not fire the carrier.

A woman is the owner of rental properties in Euless, TX. She alleged
that carriers refused to deliver mail to her properties. Tenants moved
out. She lost $50,000 in rental income, and had to use FedEx and other
shippers to receive bills that normally would have been mailed.

Are her allegations true? Well, either the mail was delivered or it
wasn't; there's no middle ground. How does this get to lawsuit stage?
You have a meeting with the postmaster. He's expected to manage his post office. The problem should have been corrected the very next morning.

She lost at district, but Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that "loss"
and "miscarriage" don't apply to willful acts. This created a circuit
split as the 1st, 2nd, and 8th, in similar cases, held that "loss" and "miscarriage" broadly included such willful acts.

The government is pissed. The solicitor general is arguing that creating
an exception to an exception would lead to the government defending
against numerous lawsuits as other plaintiffs will allege willful acts
of misconduct.

Well, gee. I'm sorry it's inconvenient to defend against lawsuits with legitimate claims. How about disciplining or firing employees who
misdirect the mail?

Hell, it's a criminal act!

Just manage your employees as required and stop committing bad acts.

But the principle of the right of the government to harm the governed is
at stake. I hope this is a 9-0 verdict. There's no ideology here.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/04/liability-for-undelivered-mail-and-the-chilling-effect-of-subpoenas/

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/04/justices-take-up-texas-womans-claim-against-usps/

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