United States Postal Service(TM) 

In the Matter of the Complaint Against	)  December 18, 1998
					)
K.I.E.					)
					)
	at				)
					)
2405 Pine Street			)
PO Box 33812 Stn D			)
Vancouver BC V6J 4L7			)
CANADA					)  P. S. Docket No. FOR 98-477

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:		Amanda Corry
					P. O. Box 94668 Stn. Main, 
					7680 River Road
					Richmond, BC V6Y 4A4 Canada

APPEARANCE FOR COMPLAINANT:		Janessa Grady, Esq.
					Consumer Protection Law
					United States Postal Service
					475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Room 6333
					Washington, DC  20260-1127

POSTAL SERVICE DECISION

On October 19, 1998, Tentative Decision and Order No. 98-107 was issued, which concluded that in accordance with 39 C.F.R. §952.7(b), the orders authorized by 39 U.S.C. §3005(a) should be issued against Respondent. Accompanying the Tentative Decision and Order was a "Notice of Tentative Decision and Order" which advised Respondent that unless it presented good cause for dismissing the Complaint within 45 days of the date of the Tentative Decision, the Tentative Decision and Order would become final. On November 23, 1998, Respondent filed a timely reply in which it contends that it does not sell lottery tickets, but instead, it offers for sale lists of lucky numbers.

Respondent has not shown good cause for dismissing the Complaint. Although Respondent states that its solicitation is an offer to purchase lists of lucky numbers, the language of the solicitation does not convey that message to the addressee. Respondent’s mailing must be considered as a whoIe and its meaning determined in the light of its probable impact on the mind of the ordinary reader.1/ The language and format of the solicitation clearly create the impression that the fee to be remitted entitles the recipient to participate in a lottery enterprise.2/

Moreover, even though Respondent may not actually offer the addressee the opportunity to purchase a lottery ticket, its sale of numbers to be used in a lottery evidences Respondent’s intimate involvement in a scheme for the distribution of money by lottery, and thus under the plain meaning of 39 U.S.C. §3005, Respondent is "engaged in conducting a lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme for the distribution of money . . . by lottery, chance, or drawing of any kind . . . ."3/

Accordingly, pursuant to 39 C.F.R. §952.7(b), Tentative Decision and Order No. 98-107 is now the Final Decision and Order of the Postal Service. 




					James A. Cohen
					Judicial Officer
1. Donaldson v. Read Magazine, Inc., 333 U.S. 178, 188 (1948); Peak Laboratories, Inc. v. United States Postal Service, 556 F.2d 1387, 1389 (5th Cir. 1977); Charles Smith, P.S. Docket No. 36/129 (P.S.D. Dec. 9, 1993) at 7. 39 U.S.C. §3005 is intended to protect not only the sophisticated and wary reader but also the gullible, naïve, and less critical reader. Leo Daboub, P.S. Docket No. 19/185 (P.S.D. July 10, 1986) at 9.

2. Winners List Commission, P.S. Docket No. FOR 98-340 (P.S.D. Oct. 13, 1998) at 2; Fulfillment and Processing Center, P.S. Docket No. FOR 96-202 (P.S.D. Aug. 30, 1996) at 2; I.A.C., P.S. Docket No. FOR 96-192 (P.S.D. Aug. 30, 1996) at 2; BLC Services, Inc. d/b/a Registry Bureau, P.S. Docket No. FOR 96-95 (Final Decision and Order May 17, 1996) at 2.

3. Winners List Commission, P.S. Docket No. FOR 98-340 (P.S.D. Oct. 13, 1998) at 2; Fulfillment and Processing Center, P.S. Docket No. FOR 96-202 (P.S.D. Aug. 30, 1996) at 3; I.A.C., P.S. Docket No. FOR 96-192 (P.S.D. Aug. 30, 1996) at 3.