Supreme Court 5-4 Upholds USPS Mail Exemption

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Tuesday that Americans cannot sue the U.S. Postal Service for intentionally withholding mail, upholding a federal exemption even in cases involving deliberate nondelivery. The decision came in a dispute brought by Lebene Konan, a Black landlord from Euless, Texas, who alleged that postal employees refused to deliver her mail and that of her tenants for two years due to racial bias.

Konan, who also works as a real estate and insurance agent, owns rental properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to court records, the problems began when she discovered that the key to a mailbox for one of her properties had been changed without her knowledge, blocking access to mail for her and her tenants. When she contacted the local post office, officials initially refused to provide a new key or resume delivery until she proved ownership. Konan submitted the required documentation, but the issues persisted. Despite instructions from the USPS inspector general to deliver the mail, employees allegedly marked items as undeliverable or returned them to sender.

As a result, Konan and her tenants missed critical items, including bills, medications and car...