Indiana Wesleyan hosts traveling Supreme Court

Indiana Wesleyan University hosted the traveling Supreme Court on April 10, during the University’s celebration of scholarship. 

The case at hand was between a delivery driver Mahari Oukbu and Amazon. Oukbu sued Amazon and the property owner of the facility where the incident occurred, CF Mount Comfort.  

Oukbu was delivering a package to the Amazon facility when the signage for entrances confused him. He had to stop his car and get out on the highway to determine where to go. When Oukbu got out, he was injured by another vehicle. Seven weeks later, Harvail Dhillon, another delivery driver, got out of his car due to confusion and was struck and killed by a vehicle. 

Oukbu said he wanted Amazon to pay for damages and adjust, but Amazon argued that they are not responsible for damages that occur off their property.  

Alice Trueblood described Oukbu’s position. 

  “By placing those signs there, (Amazon) affirmatively assuming control of the behavior of the invitees who are attempting to enter their premises” Trueblood said. 

Amazon’s council said, “The concern is not so much how this affects Amazon, it’s how it affects property owners across the state, warehouse that have a condition that’s going to create a potential liability.”   

Justice Goff said this issue is not the liability as Amazon’s council is making it out to be.  

“Everybody’s worried about (liability), but it seems to me that the universe of people that this signage is directed to is really small and the conduct is really specific. Happens twice in a period of less than two months,” Goff said. 

No final decision was made during this hearing.