Judge dismisses FedEx from lawsuit filed by victims' families in deadly mass shooting
A federal judge has released FedEx from a lawsuit filed by the families of five people killed in the 2021 mass shooting at the company's Indianapolis facility, according to court records.
U.S. District Judge James Sweeney in the Southern District of Indiana granted one of FedEx’s motions to dismiss all four divisions of the company from the wrongful death suit, upholding its argument that the legal action falls under a worker's compensation issue, versus one for the federal courts.
In his ruling released Monday, Sweeney said the families allege in the lawsuit their relatives were killed in the FedEx parking lot on April 15, 2021 while either just arriving or leaving the facility during a shift change. Therefore, he said, their injuries are tied to work.
Sweeney concluded the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board has jurisdiction over such claims versus the court.
The decision does not dismiss Securitas Security Services, the company tasked with providing security at the facility.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year by the families of Amarjeet Johal, 66, Amarjit Sekhon, 48, Jasvinder Kaur, 50, John Weisert, 74, and Karli Smith, 19, who all lost their lives. The family representatives in the complaint argue stronger security measures should have been in place at the facility.
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The attack remains the worst mass shooting in the city’s history. In total, eight people were killed and five were injured after the shooter opened fire at the facility, located in the southwest side of Indianapolis. Matthew R. Alexander, 32, Samaria Blackwell, 19, and Jaswinder Singh, 68, also died that night.
The 19-year-old shooter died by suicide at the facility, located at 8951 Mirabel Road near the Indianapolis International Airport.
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Melvin Hewitt, an attorney representing the slain employees' families, told IndyStar in a statement they are "extremely disappointed" with the court decision, saying Indiana law often shields large employers from liability through Worker's Compensation. Hewitt maintains the employees killed that night had either not punched in for work or had already punched out, and therefore were not working at the ground facility when the shooting occurred.
FedEx raised another motion to dismiss, which Sweeney denied, arguing the company is divided into separate businesses and therefore cannot be held responsible for what one entity does in a state.
“FedEx thus argues that FedEx does no business in Indiana; FedEx has never heard of Indiana; only Ground does business in Indiana; what Ground does in Indiana is its own affair,” the judge surmised from the company's position.
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Sweeney called the argument “preposterous” in his motion, but noted it may be valid in corporate law.
FedEx and its affiliates were dismissed from the federal lawsuit without prejudice, which allows the families to re-file their legal claims.
Contact Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: FedEx shooting: Judge dismisses company from families' lawsuit
