Lawsuit Over Postal Rampage Is Dismissed

An Orange County Superior Court judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a postal worker who contended that her union left her unprotected when co-worker Mark Richard Hilbun went on a deadly rampage at the Dana Point post office in 1993.

Judge Jack K. Mandel ruled that the suit filed by Kim Springer, who police said was stalked by Hilbun for a year, should instead be filed in federal court because it involved federal employees, said Springer’s lawyer, Jack M. Earley.

Earley said he planned to appeal the decision. He said the matter was filed in Superior Court because plaintiffs have more control in state court than in federal court.

Springer was not injured when Hilbun allegedly opened fire in the post office on May 6, 1993, killing one postal worker and wounding another during a three-day rampage that left two dead and five people hurt.

Springer later sued the National Assn. of Letter Carriers and Local 1100, saying she suffered “severe embarrassment, humiliation and prolonged emotional distress” from the shooting. Months before the attack, Springer complained to her union steward that she was being harassed by Hilbun and she later obtained a restraining order against him.

Hilbun was fired in September, 1992, but filed a grievance with the union, which sought to get him reinstated despite telling Springer that her problem would be “taken care of,” Earley said when the suit was filed.

The union said it handled the situation properly, and spokesman on Wednesday praised the judge’s ruling.

“It was a very tragic event and we’re glad to have it behind us,” said Charles Miller, executive vice president of the Santa Ana-based postal workers’ local. “This is not the type of thing you want to celebrate--especially when you know the people there.”