In the Matter of a Mail Dispute Between:

 RICHARD E. COMPASS
 and
 MICHAEL S. BROWNLEE

 P.S. Docket No. MD-47

 03/10/89

 Lemert, James E., Administrative Judge

 APPEARANCE FOR RICHARD E. COMPASS:
 Richard E. Compass, pro se,
 5 The Pines Court,
 St. Louis, MO 63141-6076 

 APPEARANCE FOR MICHAEL S. BROWNLEE:
 John J. Allan, Esq.,
 906 Olive Street, Suite 1100,
 St. Louis, MO 63101-1448

This mail dispute was docketed under Domestic Mail Manual § 153.72, which requires regional counsel to forward unresolved mail disputes to this Department for decision. Both parties have filed submittals pursuant to 39 C.F.R. § 965.5, in support of their respective contentions concerning the right to the delivery of mail addressed to Gateway Micro Products or Gateway Products at 5 The Pines Court, St. Louis, Missouri (MO) 63141-6067. Disputant Compass in his submittals has sought to add to this pending mail dispute four more specified addresses for Gateway Products, and requests that he be allowed to add others as they are discovered. These requests are denied. This decision will be limited to the only address in issue, 5 The Pines Court, St. Louis, MO 63141-6067. The following findings and conclusions are based on the submittals from the parties and the material in the record submitted by regional counsel.

1. Richard E. Compass is president of Compass Solutions Marketing, Inc. (CSMI), a Missouri corporation in good standing.

2. In 1985 Michael S. Brownlee incorporated Gateway Micro Products, Inc. (Gateway) in the State of Missouri. Mr. Brownlee was president and sole shareholder of the corporation, whose business purpose was the marketing and sale of software programs. Its corporate status was forfeited November 2, 1987, for failure to pay the State franchise tax.

3. Until December 1988 the business address for Gateway was 5 The Pines Court, St. Louis, MO 63141-6067.

4. By agreement dated July 1, 1988, Brownlee, as statutory trustee and shareholder of Gateway, transferred and assigned to CSMI its rights and interests to designated customer orders, telephone numbers formerly used by Gateway, and all its rights to use of the business name "Gateway Micro Products," "Gateway Products," or any similar name.

5. Under the terms of a subsequent agreement, executed July 25, 1988, by the disputants, Gateway and Brownlee (acting as independent contractors, not employees of CSMI) would solicit business and customer orders for CSMI and would be paid commissions. In consideration therefor, Gateway and Brownlee transferred and assigned to CSMI all their rights to unfilled and future customer orders, lists, telephone numbers and addresses. This latter agreement recited that it constituted the entire understanding of the parties and "supercedes and replaces any oral or written communications and any undertakings heretofore made between the parties." Either party could terminate the agreement on 30-days written notice. Upon termination, Gateway was required to return records, orders, customer lists and other items related to the business to CSMI. The terms of the agreement did not specify that following termination CSMI would have any rights to the use of the name Gateway or to mail addressed to Gateway or disputant Brownlee.

6. On July 15, 1988, CSMI registered with the State of Missouri "Gateway Products" as a fictitious name, indicating that CSMI was doing business under that name.

7. From July through November 1988 mail addressed to Gateway or disputant Brownlee was forwarded to CSMI with Brownlee's consent. Pursuant to the business arrangement Brownlee continued to assign rights of Gateway to CSMI until December 14, 1988.

8. On December 16, 1988, disputant Brownlee filed a change-of-address order (PS Form 3575) to have mail addressed to Gateway Micro Products, 5 The Pines Court, St. Louis, MO 63141-6067, forwarded to Gateway Micro Products at 15440 Clayton Road, #107B, Ballwin, MO 63011-3165.

9. As of December 21, 1988, CSMI terminated the agreement of July 25, 1988.

10. On January 6, 1989, disputant Compass filed a PS Form 3546 (Forwarding Order Change Notice) with the Creve Couer Branch Post Office in St. Louis, MO (and also the Ballwin Post Office) to cancel Brownlee's forwarding order.

11. The parties were unable to agree on a third party to separate their mail. Pending resolution of the dispute, mail for Gateway Products and Michael S. Brownlee has been held at the Creve Couer Branch.

The purpose of resolving mail disputes is to determine which party has the right to obtain delivery of mail as addressed and that determination is not necessarily dispositive of the question of ownership of the mail.

Under the original agreement between the disputants, rights to use the name Gateway Micro Products and to receive customer orders of that organization were transferred and assigned to CSMI. Those rights would include the right to receive delivery of mail addressed to Gateway at 5 The Pines Court, St. Louis, MO 63141-6067. That agreement was superseded and replaced by a second agreement, executed on July 25, 1988. The second agreement was less explicit concerning the right of CSMI to use the name Gateway and receive its mail, but in view of other terms in the agreement and the conduct of the parties, such could be implied. However, the second agreement was terminated by CSMI on December 21, 1988, and it included no post-termination provisions that would authorize CSMI to use the name Gateway or to receive mail addressed to Gateway or disputant Brownlee.

In the absence of an agreement between the parties, mail addressed to the former corporation Gateway should be delivered to the agent for that organization, disputant Brownlee, its statutory trustee.

Accordingly, all mail addressed to Gateway or disputant Brownlee at 5 The Pines Court, St. Louis, MO 63141-6067, received after December 21, 1988, should be delivered to disputant Brownlee. Any mail currently being held, which was received on or before December 21, 1988, should be delivered to disputant Compass as president of CSMI, which had a right to delivery of that mail before termination of the agreement. It is the responsibility of each disputant to forward or otherwise deliver to the other mail which is the other disputant's property.