A Minnesota woman is suing the federal government after a letter she mailed to her son in Iraq was returned with the word "deceased" stamped on the envelope, even though the soldier is alive.
Joan Najbar of Duluth filed the lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, claiming emotional distress and negligence.
Najbar sent the letter to her son in September 2006. Several weeks later the letter was returned to her by the Postal Service with a red "deceased" stamp. Najbar contacted the Red Cross and learned her son had not been killed.
She filed a claim for injuries against the Postal Service in July 2008. That claim was denied. A letter from the Postal Service says its investigation found no negligence.
A call to Najbar's attorney was not immediately returned. The government's answer to her suit has not yet been filed.
