Tenn.-based FedEx sues NY attorney general over fraud probe, says state laws don’t apply

Tenn.-based FedEx sues in NYC to stop fraud probe

NEW YORK — FedEx sued New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday to stop his fraud probe into the speedy package carrier, saying federal law trumps any state laws he may cite against it.

FedEx said in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, that the probe can’t proceed because there’s a federal prohibition against state laws regulating the prices, routes and services of air carriers.

The lawsuit said that letting the investigation proceed would be allowing overlapping and inconsistent regulation of air carriers by the federal government and the states.

FedEx, which is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., filed the lawsuit in response to a subpoena it received from Cuomo’s office in June. It said it must answer the subpoena by the end of August.

The subpoena, attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit, sought documents related to the company’s insurance liability limits. It also sought records of complaints by FedEx customers or lawsuits they brought about coverage of items exceeding $1,000 in value such as artworks, films, antiques, glassware, plasma screens, jewelry, furs, precious metals, stocks, bonds and musical instruments more than 20 years old.

FedEx said in the lawsuit that it denies it has engaged in “repeated fraudulent or illegal acts” or that it has demonstrated “persistent fraud or illegality” in its business.

The lawsuit said it “further denies that it has committed any wrongful or illegal acts whatsoever.”

Cuomo’s office was reviewing the lawsuit, spokesman John Milgrim said.