The law of mail.

My grandfather was the postmaster of Orange, Texas in the 1930s and 1940s, so I have a family interest in cases involving mail. Long v. Paratheke Enterprises, LLC provides an instructive example about whether a key notice, sent by a landlord using certified and first-class mail, was received by the tenant:

• The certified mailing was not delivered successfully. “The evidence showed the U.S. Postal Service attempted to deliver the certified mail letter on September 29, October 4, and October 14 and returned the letter to Landlord’s counsel as “UNCLAIMED” and with a stock printed sticker stating “RETURN TO SENDER INSUFFICIENT ADDRESS UNABLE TO FORWARD.”
• As for the first-class mailing: “Landlord presented evidence that its counsel addressed the notice to vacate to Tenant and sent the notice to the Premises’ address, postage prepaid, by regular first-class mail. Thus, a presumption exists that the mailing was duly received by Tenant.”
• Tenant sought to overcome that presumption with her testimony about difficulty using that mailbox (it was shared by the tenants and open to the street), and by noting the problem with the certified mailing. The Fifth Court held that the trial court was justified in not crediting that testimony: “As factfinder, the trial court is given great latitude to believe or disbelieve a witness’s testimony, particularly if the witness is interested in the outcome.”

No. 05- 22-00685-CV (Aug. 15, 2023) (mem. op.).