Sanders v. FedEx Ground Package System
Supreme Court of New Mexico
144 N.M. 449, 188 P.3d 1200 (2008)
- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
In 1995, Ken Sanders (plaintiff) was hired as an independent contractor for FedEx Ground Package System (FedEx) (defendant) to make pick-ups and deliveries. According to Sanders, FedEx determined Sanders’ route, but FedEx indicated during initial negotiations that Sanders would be permitted to purchase additional routes from other independent contractors. In 1996, Sanders sought to buy the Roswell route from another independent contractor. Although Sanders was qualified to handle the route, FedEx did not permit the transfer. In 1998, Sanders sought to purchase the Hobbs-Lovington route from another independent contractor. FedEx again refused to allow the transfer. Sanders filed suit claiming breach of contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, based in part upon FedEx’s refusal to allow the Hobbs-Lovington transfer. The jury ruled in Sanders’ favor. FedEx appealed, arguing that improper instructions were given to the jury because there was no express term in the contract granting Sanders the right to purchase other routes. The court of appeals reversed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bosson, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
