Can we really expect a postal carrier to think through everyone's line of sight as they exit the garage or walk out the door? Honestly, how absurd. Look where you are going and you won't have a problem!

This kind of ruling only sets a precedence that says if your too stupid to be responsible for yourself then by all means go out and sue whom ever and when ever you want. If this person was unable to see where they were walking then they need to open their eyes, it’s that simple. If this were me my friends would be having a field day, I would be the laughing stock of the crowd.

The bottom line of this all is that we, the US Postal Customer, will get to foot the bill for two people who have neither the sense to put packages in a safe place or watch where they going. Ah yes, litigation lottery - let's compensate the lawyers and the careless at the expense of the rest of us!

I wish we could sue for trips/slips or falls but we can't. Management considers the fault to be ours for falling in the first place. As for the tax dollar question, NO. We do not receive any taxpayer dollars and havent since 1971. We derive all profit from postage and if we lose a suit like this the money comes right out of postal service profits. So that cuts back on new vehicles,equipment etc....

What's next? Is somebody going to sue the weatherman because we got ice instead of snow? Come on people, we don't live in utopia and life is full of surprises, so let's just take responsibility for our actions and not put the burden on everyone else.

I moved from one house to another (around the corner)last July. Put in a change of address with the post office. Eight days later, no mail! Went to the post office as I was expecting airline tickets ($2,000.00 worth). No mail there---it was down in Ft. Myers somewhere. They hadn't put the change of address through. I had to buy more airline tickets the day before departure---$2,000.00 more! I think the post office should have to pay me back or maybe I should sue to retrieve the extra dough. What an effort in futility that would be. How can they get by doing things like this?

Jeff in Minneapolis...
Please sue those responsible for not shoveling their snow! How dare they!
It's because of people like that when my mail is late being delivered. Maybe I should sue them because a bill was late and I didn't pay it on time...hhhhmmmmm

Do I have the right to sue MSNBC for the lost wages I suffered as a result of spending 20+ minutes reading these tiresome posts?

Another instance of the unbelievable lawsuits. We must somehow get rid of these judges, lawyers and politicians that go along with this kind of stuff. Another sad part is if the lady gets a large settlement she probably will not see the most of it, the lawyers get it.

The Post Office has a responsibility to place mail in a safe and secure location. With so much ID thief going on you would assume that the post office stop placing mail anywhere they please. Lets get off our tail and go pick up the mail from the Post Office.

Where does the USPS get it's money to fight this suit? Is it our tax dollars? If she wins is it our tax dollars they use to pay the settlement? If so doesn't that make us Uncle Sam? I'm not say she's right or wrong....I'm just saying!

Now wait a minute... It's not completely Ms. Dolan's fault. She like so many other Americans can't help they are so inept, they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag (or watch where they are going). The lawyer that presented this is even worse than she is! I always thought common sense prevailed. I guess I was wrong.

They were not arguing the lawsuit itself. Just whether or not the law protects the postal service from the lawsuit. If she was saying the postperson steped on her grass and killed it the result would have been the same. Just that people can sue for issues not covered by imunity. No facts were argued, just the law itsefl. When the facts are argued i am sure she will lose.

As a letter carrier who delivers in all sorts of weather and has to walk on un-shoveled sidewalks,porches and snow/ice covered steps I find this setting a bad precedence for all 250,000 letter carriers. Its o.k. for our customers to not shovel or clear ice but if we leave a package and somebody trips over it they can sue us but we can't sue the customer for their negligence.We have to fight with workers comp. for payment on our injuries. If lawsuits like this were to get out of hand both USPS and UPS we'll be forced to start leaving pick-up slips. What a major inconvience that would be for our customers let alone the long lines at the Post Office or at UPS centers because people can't walk and pick up their packages at the same time. Very sad indeed.

My eye's hurt reading all the posts here, I think I'm going to sue everyone that has writen more then three lines here. It's your fault I read them.

I'm not sure if people missed the point - or if the two issues can even be disentangled. If the lawsuit were based on something legitimate like the postal worker breaking in and stealing her VCR, I don't think anyone would care whether one way or another about the ruling...

Another great moment in American jurisprudence!

I just hurt my finger scrolling through these comments, watch out MSNBC, I'm coming after you. I'm including the Postal Service as well since this story is about them!

Hey, allowing her to sue doesn't mean she'll win. We don't know the situation. Perhaps your opinion would change if you were to sit on the jury. Personally, I almost ran over a package delivered to me because the mailman left it in front of my garage. I should have been watching, right? Well, I was. I have to make a hard right turn to get into my garage, and there is a brick flower bed blocking the view of that portion of the garage door from the street (which I'm sure is why he placed it there.) As you drive toward it, it is still obscured by the height of your car, because you are getting near it. That was a poorly chosen place.

C'mon fellow Americans! This ruling is a victory for those of us who are sick and tired of the federal government's lack of financial responsibility when it comes to how OUR money is spent. Maybe this will teach Uncle Sam a lesson in unnecessary spending.

I agree with the court on this issue. The Supreme Court said she could have her day in court and try to make her case; not that she would win automatically. While the suit may still be considered frivolous, that was not at issue here. The issue was, "does the post office get blanket immunity?" I, for one, am glad they do not.

If she does have large medical bills and expenses then I can understand seeking compensation for those bills; however, people should not be awarded a “reward” because they were injured. Forget the lottery, the newest craze is to be injured by a big name company that can afford to send you into retirement.

If the package had been left where the mail is usually delivered this would be rediculous, but since the delivery was not to the normal mail location then there should be liability. I have come home many times with my arms full and not had full view of my steps or porch. Of course I expect my mail to be deposited somewhere near the mailbox, and this could have been me with my door 4 feet away from the expected mail delivery location.
Remember the case said: "tripped over packages left on her porch instead of where her mail was normally dropped off." That is the key.

Why stop at the post office? Why not sue the maker of the box for not making a box that she could actually see? Or the house contractor for not making a porch big enough for her 2 feet and a pacakage... So much money is wasted on such stupid lawsuits. Man, only in America.

The Post Office, Fed Ex, UPS should not leave packages if people are not home. They're leaving themselves open to situations like this. It's easy to claim you didn't receive it or walked out in the morning to get the trash can and tripped. Common sense says not to leave packages out in the open.