A nationwide delivery company has been slow to pay after settling a lawsuit in Miller County late last year over a collision involving one of its trucks, according to a motion filed Friday.
Miller County resident William Lunsford was seriously injured when his pickup was struck by a FedEx subcontractor's truck Nov. 20, 2013, in the 5700 block of Four States Fair Parkway in Texarkana, Ark., according to court records. Lunsford filed suit for his injuries and damages against FedEx and the subcontractor, Mills Delivery Inc., with the help of Texarkana lawyer David Carter.
Testimony began before a jury in October but settled on the third day of trial Oct. 6. A formal settlement agreement was executed Dec. 7, and the defendants agreed to wire the settlement funds to Carter's attorney trust account, according to the motion. Carter made a second request for a wire transfer of the funds Dec. 18, but two days later, the defendants still had not honored the settlement agreement, the motion states.
"On December 29, 2017, counsel for Defendants represented that the funds were being sent by overnight delivery. It is now January 5, 2018, three months since the case was settled and one month since Defendants were provided with the fully executed settlement agreement. It has also been a full week since Defendants represented that the settlement funds were being 'overnighted.' Plaintiff's request for tracking information on the settlement check has gone unanswered," the motion states.
Carter's motion states that the delay is particularly perplexing in light of the defendants' marketing.
"Ironically, each of the defendants is in the overnight delivery business. According to its website, defendant FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. provides 'day-certain service to every business address in the United States and Canada' Yet despite the clever advertising campaigns and website boasts, defendant FedEx in this case has been unable to deliver a business size envelope from Memphis, Tennessee to Texarkana, Texas (approximately 300 miles) in 7 business days by 'overnight' delivery," the motion states.
Carter is asking Circuit Judge Brent Haltom to schedule the case for a hearing to address the unpaid settlement, the amount of which Carter said cannot be disclosed as part of the agreement. Carter is also asking for the court costs and attorney fees associated with the motion for a status conference. Haltom has not yet ruled on the motion, and no hearings have been scheduled.