Pamon v. USPS

── Pamon v. USPS ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: May 28, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 26-10010 Document: 48-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/28/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit ____________ FILED May 28, 2026 No. 26-10010 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk Dionne M. Pamon, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus United States Postal Service, an independent agency within the executive branch; American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, a labor organization; Vivian N. Hall, Individually and in her Official Capacity; Ricci L. Williams, Individually and in his Official Capacity; Alexander J. Cleger, Individually and in his Official Capacity; Te’Andrea M. Campbell, Individually and in her Official Capacity; Roderick Singleton, Individually and in his Official Capacity as a Union Steward, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:25-CV-539 ______________________________ Before Davis, Wilson, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.  Case: 26-10010 Document: 48-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/28/2026 No. 26-10010 Plaintiff-Appellant Dionne Pamon, proceeding pro se, brought this wrongful death suit against her employer, the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the United States, as the statutory substitute for various USPS supervisors.1 She also sued her union, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), and the union’s steward, Roderick Singleton. She alleges that Defendants “hinder[ed]” her Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) request and engaged in unspecified fraud to bring about her wrongful termination. Pamon admits in her complaint that “the factual background” of this case is “substantially analogous” to that of a previous lawsuit—which is still pending—that she filed against the same parties asserting wrongful termination and violations of the FMLA. But in this suit, she asserts a different theory of recovery: that Defendants’ conduct caused her husband to experience emotional stress and financial instability, which contributed to his premature death. Acting on the recommendation of a magistrate judge, the district court dismissed the case. As to the United States and the USPS, the court held Pamon’s claims were barred by sovereign immunity. It observed that although Pamon could have avoided sovereign immunity by proceeding under the Federal Tort Claims Act, she failed to administratively exhaust her _____________________ 1 Pamon originally sued only her individual supervisors. However, the district court substituted the United States for these supervisors pursuant to the Westfall Act, which immunizes federal employees for acts done within the scope of their employment. See 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d). Pamon argues on appeal that the United States filed its request for substitution without leave of court. But Pamon provides no support for her assertion that leave of court was required and, regardless, fails to show that she suffered any prejudice