Did FedEx lose $50,000 in watches? North Carolina shop is suing over empty envelope
A repair shop in North Carolina says it shipped watches worth almost $50,000 through FedEx. But the retailer instead got just a padded envelope, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Cote Timeworks, which is based in Southern Pines, says FedEx was negligent and “didn’t take responsibility, forcing it to pay out-of-pocket to compensate its watch-less clients,” the Triangle Business Journal wrote.
The watch business in a lawsuit filed Tuesday said it paid to ship five watches to New Hampshire and back so that work could be done on them. The items included an 18-karat gold Rolex worth almost $20,000, according to a court document.
A Cote worker in July 2017 signed for the North Carolina-bound package, which was missing all five watches, the lawsuit said.
“The employee of Cote noticed the package was very light and proceeded to open the package to find the package to only contain a USPS Priority Mail padded envelope and nothing else,” according to the court document, which says Cote then made a report to FedEx.
The package “weighed significantly less” when it came to the North Carolina store than it did in New Hampshire and Tennessee, a stop during the transit, the lawsuit said.
The business says items were removed from the shipment and that FedEx has video showing the “package was tampered with.”
In response to the lawsuit, FedEx on Wednesday said the company “is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or accuracy” of some allegations. The company’s filing also denies the negligence claims and says there could be others responsible for Cote’s allegations.
It also says the shop’s “claims are or may be barred or limited by its failure to take due and appropriate care in the mitigation of its damages, or the failure of its agents, employees, beneficiaries or representatives to take due and appropriate care in the mitigation of its damages.”
FexEx’s response calls for Cote’s lawsuit to be dismissed.
