Because the Board has the authority to resolve contract disputes involving the Postal Service, Triumph Donnelly asserts that we have jurisdiction over a claim relating to a contract for the delivery of the mail, presumably under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), 41 U.S.C. Triumph Donnelly argues that the Postal Service breached a contract when it lost the Priority Mail package. Upon receipt of Triumph Donnelly’s appeal, the Board, on its own initiative, asked the parties to address the Board’s jurisdiction, and both parties filed briefs addressing the issue. Instead of filing suit in federal district court, Triumph Donnelly filed an appeal here. The National Tort Center advised Triumph Donnelly that its reconsideration decision was the Postal Service’s final administrative action on the tort claim, but that Triumph Donnelly could file suit within six months in federal district court, which it advised has exclusive jurisdiction over an FTCA action (Appeal at 8). Triumph Donnelly asked for reconsideration of that decision (Appeal at 27), but that request was denied in March 2017 (Appeal at 8). The claim was denied by the Postal Service’s National Tort Center in October 2016 (Appeal at 47–48). Triumph Donnelly then filed a tort claim in September 2016 under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) seeking $50,000 resulting from the Postal Service’s loss of its package (Appeal at 59). 3 When Triumph Donnelly discovered that its package was lost, it filed a claim for $50 under this provision, which the Postal Service paid (Appeal at 2, 64). The Postal Service automatically provides $50 of insurance for most packages sent by Priority Mail (Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) § 503.4.2.b). The package was never delivered as addressed, and the Postal Service acknowledges that the package is lost (Appeal at 10, 61–62). In August 2016, Triumph Donnelly mailed a package by Priority Mail from Seneca, South Carolina, to Los Angeles, California. We agree with the Postal Service, and dismiss the appeal. The Postal Service asserts that the Board lacks jurisdiction, while Triumph Donnelly argues otherwise. Triumph Donnelly Studios LLC seeks $50,000 for damages caused by the Postal Service’s failure to deliver a Priority Mail package. United States Postal Service Law Department
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