Man challenges Federal Express in marijuana case
BROWNSVILLE — A lawsuit alleging Federal Express Corp. employees knowingly loaded 800 pounds of marijuana onto a truck may be moved to federal court in Brownsville.
A Nueces County man's lawsuit against the company could be moved to federal court if plaintiff Reynaldo Garza does not contest the action, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Garza alleges that while he was working as a driver for a company contracted by Federal Express, employees of Federal Express loaded 800 pounds of marijuana into the cargo area of his truck even though they smelled the odor of the illicit drug coming from the boxes.
The loading of the truck occurred in June 2007 at the Harlingen airport, said Garza's Corpus Christi attorney, Robert Zamora.
Narcotics detector dogs sniffed out the load of drugs when Garza reached the U.S. Border Patrol's Sarita checkpoint, Zamora said. Garza was arrested and charged with drug offenses.
Zamora said his client simply thought he was delivering boxes.
Because the plaintiff and defendant are from two different states - Federal Express is a Delaware corporation with its principal offices in Tennessee, and Garza resides in Nueces County - Federal Express attorney Peter Blomquist wants the case moved to federal court. The case was originally filed in May last year in the 444th state District Court in Brownsville.
"Federal courts are a little more sophisticated," Blomquist said. "The judges are more strict."
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Laura Tillman is a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.
