 Stare decisis
"Stare decisis" is legal jargon meaning "to stand by things decided" in Latin. These shippers & receivers are ignoring your concerns of identity theft because to this date, there has never been a lawsuit filed by any driver, claiming he/she had suffered "identity theft" due to a shippers/receivers policy of collecting confidential info. Until someone has the foresight and intellect to start gathering data, then later follow up with a lawsuit after becoming the victim of identity theft, these people will ignore your concerns and simply do as they're told.
To prepare this case, you need to start keeping a written record of the name, address, date, time, and person you spoke with, who insisted on collecting the data after you've voiced your concerns of identity theft. They can later claim you had the right to withold the info, but voluntarily gave it without asking if it was mandatory or not. Politely ask the person to give his/her full name, which you'll need when you file a lawsuit. Ask to see a pictured ID to ascertain they had not given you a bogus name. It may be prudent not to mention you're gathering data for a possible future lawsuit, and they'd likely be honest in giving you their real name. Bring a digital camera (or use your cellphone camera) and take a picture of the log entry sheet, so you have picture evidence of the entire sheet with your confidential info written on it, along with all the drivers above your name who were compelled to give this info.
In every civil lawsuit, denial is a very common defense to have the case dismissed, so it's important to have written records, pictures, audio, and or
video of the incident to corroborate your claim. After you've become the victim of identity theft, it's likely you've generated a long list of shippers/receivers who had collected confidential data from you; everyone on your list should be named as defendants in your lawsuit. Its likely
they're first tactic to have their name removed from the list of defendants, is to claim it was voluntary, and you had the right to refuse to show your CDL. Had you kept an audio recording of the conversation when you stated you would rather not comply, and they pressured you into compliance of their policy, then this first legal tactic will fail. If you
can't record the conversation, ask for a copy of their written policy, stating "drivers must show CDL, and shippers/receivers must record confidential data." A copy of their written policy will strenghten your lawsuit.
Another option is to take a digital picture of the log entry book, and names, phone numbers, or email address of the drivers who had witnessed your reluctance to give classified info. You would need to subpoena these drivers, or gather written statements called "affidavits" to corroborate your claim. Because this is a standard practice among shippers/receivers, you would file a "Class Action" lawsuit, meaning you represent not only yourself, but every driver who had ever picked up or delivered on their property.
A class action lawsuit is often a minimum, 1 million dollars in punitive damage alone. Punitive damage means you're asking the judge to punish the defendant for their behaviour (practice), and should make an example by imposing monetary award as a deterent for others not to do this. Say you get a letter, stating you owe $1,000 for an unpaid credit card you never applied for, and it cost you another $200 in filing fees, and having to hire someone to resolve the matter and clear your name (you don't need to resolve this first, before suing the shippers/receivers who had caused this. File your lawsuit while trying to clear your name). You now have $1,200 in actual damage alone. If you want to include $10,000 in emotional stress, you'll need to show document proof of this, so it's prudent to schedule an appointment with a therapist. Even if you're not really that stressed, schedule an appointment and tell the therapist you can't eat, sleep, or have sex with your wife because this experience has greatly disturbed you, leaving you sexually impotent. Because your wife had been deprived of her need for sex, she's now a plaintiff in this case (there are other ways to sexually satisfy your wife, but that's another topic); she had indirectly suffered from this as well. Without this document proof of seeing a therapist, as a result of an "identity theft" crisis in your life, the judge will likely dismiss your claim of emotional stress.
So the therapist sends you a $200 bill, which you past off to your medical insurance coverage. You now have $1,400 in actual damage, $10,000 for pain and emotional stress, and (just to make a nice round figure) $1,988,600 in punitive damage, for a total of 2 million dollars. A lawsuit this big will pressure the defendants to offer a compromised amount to settle out of court. Your lawyer will get a letter from the defendant's lawyer, offering maybe $10,000 for you to settle the matter. Once you've filed a lawsuit, a defense attorney will evaluate the chances of you winning this case. If the defense lawyer feels your chances of winning are pretty good, they will send your attorney a letter, offering to settle out of court. If you don't receive this letter, then their evaluation is, you're not going to win this case, and the judge will dismiss the case as "frivolous."
Unless every shipper/receiver on your list is domiciled in the same state (local or short-haul drivers), you would need to file in a Federal civil court, not a state civil court. If your case is filed in the wrong court level, they can claim "outside jurisdiction" defense, and defendants who qualify for this claim can have their name removed from your lawsuit. If you're a local or short-haul driver who never crosses the stateline, then a state civil court will suffice. When you find an attorney to represent you, only give him/her copies of your evidence, but don't let him/her know they're copies. Attorneys can be bribed for the right amount. I've heard rumors of lawyers representing a plaintiff in a case, who met in secret with the defendant's lawyers, or the defendant themselves. They would offer the plaintiff's attorney a huge sum to sabotage the case, and before you know it, your lawyer suddenly becomes incompetent and doesn't file the right papers in time, or doesn't show up in court on a trial date, resulting in your case being dismissed. A good indication a lawyer took a bribe, is when you ask for all the records and evidence to hire another lawyer, and he says all the records were loss or destroyed in a recent unforeseen incident.
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04.10.2008
(mine is red, you get the point) 
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