In the Matter of a Mail Dispute between

RAY MARTIN and ERICK WAITES

P.S. Docket No. MD 15-83

APPEARANCE FOR DISPUTANT RAY MARTIN:
Ray Martin

APPEARANCE FOR DISPUTANT ERICK WAITES:
Erick Waites

INITIAL DECISION

This mail dispute has been docketed pursuant to Postal Operations Manual (POM) § 616.21 under the procedures established at 39 C.F.R. Part 965. The disputants, Ray Martin and Erick Waites, have claimed the right to receive mail addressed to Six Corps, LLC, at Post Office Box 282, Anthony, Kansas 67003. The Judicial Officer directed the Anthony Postmaster to hold the mail until this dispute is resolved.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Six Corps, LLC (the LLC) consists of six members, including the disputants (Waites Affidavit (Waites Aff.), ¶ 2).
2. On November 17, 2014, Mr. Martin opened Post Office Box 282, Anthony, Kansas on behalf of the LLC (Mail Dispute Referral (Referral), first attachment).
3. On January 28, 2015, Mr. Martin closed the box, and directed that the mail be forwarded to his home address (Referral). At the time, Mr. Martin was the LLC’s manager (Referral, sixth attachment).
4. On March 6, 2015, Mr. Waites re-applied for Post Office Box 282 on behalf of the LLC, and was provided keys to the re-opened box (Waites Aff. ¶ 3 and first attachment to Waites Aff.). The application identified Mr. Waites and the other LLC members except Mr. Martin, as entitled to receive the mail (Referral and fourth attachment to Referral). Mr. Waites also directed that mail addressed to the post office box that had been redirected to Mr. Martin’s address, be delivered as addressed to the box (Referral).
5. On March 18, 2015, the LLC members (except Mr. Martin) unanimously removed Mr. Martin from his positions as both manager and as member of the LLC, and declared that the LLC would be managed by its remaining members (Waites Aff. ¶¶ 3, 5 and second attachment to Waites Aff.). At that point, Mr. Martin’s authority to act on behalf of the LLC was extinguished (Waites Aff. ¶ 5 and second attachment to Waites Aff.).
6. On March 27, 2015, the designee of the Chief Counsel for the United States Postal Service, Western Area Law Office, referred this mail dispute to the Postal Service’s Judicial Officer. A Notice of Docketing and Submittal Due Date was issued on April 1, 2015, and in accordance with applicable procedures, required submittals by the parties by April 16, 2015.
7. Mr. Waites submitted a sworn statement with supporting documentation on April 14, 2015. Mr. Martin has not submitted anything during this proceeding.¹

DECISION

The procedures for resolution of mail disputes require the submission of sworn statements and documents relied upon by the disputants in support of their respective positions. See 39 C.F.R. § 965.5. A party who fails to comply may be held in default, and the presiding officer may issue an initial decision that mail be delivered to the other party. See 39 C.F.R. § 965.7. Here, Mr. Martin failed to submit a sworn statement, or supporting documents in response to the docketing of this mail dispute and failed to file rebuttal materials (Finding 7). This is sufficient to find him in default and to rule in favor of Mr. Waites. In addition, Mr. Waites has submitted evidence sufficient to rule in his favor.

Where a disputant is an initial manager of an LLC, his right to receive mail addressed to the company is cut off when that appointment is removed. See Christine A. Bochicchio and Paula Zappulla, P.S. Docket No. MD 04-182 (I.D. January 26, 2005), finalized, (Order, February 16, 2005). As Mr. Martin was removed as LLC manager and member (Finding 5), he is not entitled to receive the mail.

Ordinarily, postal rules require that mail sent to a business organization such as an LLC will be delivered according to the directions of the organization’s president or equivalent official. See Luciano Bonano and Allan Hausknecht, P.S. Docket No. MD 11-279 (I.D. November 9, 2011) citing POM § 614.1. The LLC’s operating agreement does not identify a position equivalent to president, other than manager. Both the LLC’s operating agreement and the governing statute (the Kansas Revised Limited Liability Company Act (K.S.A. 17-7662 et seq. (2014)) envision day-to-day administration of the LLC to be handled by a manager (see K.S.A. 17-7693, Management of limited liability company). For reasons that are not apparent from the record, the LLC apparently intends to be managed by its members without designation of a manager or explanation of the effect of a disagreement among those members.²

When the LLC ceased to be managed by a manager (Finding 5), apparently without dispute, its members authorized Mr. Waites to receive the LLC’s mail. I therefore conclude that Mr. Waites is entitled to continue to receive the mail in dispute until such time as the LLC duly appoints a manager.

This decision deals only with delivery of the mail. It does not determine ownership of the contents of the mail and does not attempt to resolve any underlying disputes between the parties. If a court order subsequently directs delivery of the mail, postal regulations provide that the mail will be delivered according to such an order. POM § 616.3.

This initial decision therefore recommends that the Judicial Officer issue an order directing that the Anthony, Kansas Postmaster deliver all previously held mail, and all mail received in the future addressed to Post Office Box 282, Anthony, Kansas 67003, as addressed, and that Mr. Waites is authorized to receive that mail until a duly appointed manager of the LLC directs alternative delivery.

Gary E. Shapiro
Administrative Judge

¹Mr. Martin received the Notice of Docketing and Submittal Due Date on April 4, 2015. Delivery of the copy of Mr. Waites’ April 14, 2015 sworn statement that this office forwarded to Mr. Martin apparently was delayed, and Mr. Martin received it on April 27, 2015. There is no indication that Mr. Waites provided a copy directly to Mr. Martin. Accordingly, Mr. Martin’s ten-day deadline in which to submit rebuttal materials expired on May 7, 2015. See 39 C.F.R. § 965.6. Notwithstanding an April 30, 2015 letter from counsel for Mr. Waites requesting entry of a default judgment, I concluded that it was appropriate to await expiration of that 10-day period in which Mr. Martin could have filed rebuttal materials. That 10-day period expired today.

² The record does not identify the percentage-of-ownership of the LLC’s members.