Caporicci Footwear v. Federal Express Corp.

Caporicci Footwear, Ltd. (Caporicci) (plaintiff) hired Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) (defendant) to ship shoes from Virginia to Florida and to collect the approximately $98,000 payment from the recipient upon delivery. Caporicci told FedEx that the recipient was International Shoe Company and provided an address, which turned out to be for a self-storage facility. At the facility, a man identified himself as a representative of the International Shoe Company and told the FedEx driver to unload the shoes by the door of a particular storage bay. The man then gave the FedEx driver two seemingly valid cashier’s checks totaling approximately $98,000. However, the checks were found to be fraudulent and worthless. Caporicci sued FedEx, claiming that FedEx (1) breached its contractual obligations by not going to the storage facility’s office to ensure that the address was correct and (2) committed the tort of negligence by delivering the packages outside a storage bay, which caused Caporicci’s packages to be stolen. FedEx moved for summary judgment, arguing that it was not liable because its combined airbill-service guide contract (1) put the entire risk of fraud on Caporicci, (2) specifically stated that FedEx was not acting as Caporicci’s agent while collecting any payment during a delivery, and (3) allowed FedEx to deliver to an alternate location if instructed by the recipient to do so.