Raila v. United States

Plaintiff Lenore Raila was injured when she slipped on a package that had been left just below her front door step. She filed suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671-2680 (2000), alleging that the proximate cause of her injuries was the negligence of the postal employee who placed the package where someone might slip on it. The defendant moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, because the so-called postal matter exception to the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. 2680(b) (2000), shields the government from liability in this situation. In an order dated February 26, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut (Covello, J.) granted the defendants motion. We reverse.