Supreme Court rules 9-0 trucking broker can be sued after deadly crashes

I completely agree that Federal agencies have a lot of responsibility for handling poor carriers/drivers. But they have consistently shirked that responsibility and the tort system is the last resort to address bad behavior. The broker system is being used as a liability shield to insulate decision makers from the consequences of their actions. A few years ago there was a small carrier (25-50 trucks) that got hit with a 'nuclear verdict'. One of their trucks broke down and they hired another carrier to repower the load. That carrier hit a electrical utility lineman parked on the shoulder. The carrier tried to claim that they'd 'brokered the load', but hadn't done the paperwork properly, so the court found that the contracted carrier was acting as a agent of the carrier, thus the carrier was liable. Had the carrier been more mindful, they could have escaped all liability for who they hired.

Say CH Robinsin or Amazon had a CSA score based on inspections of carriers currently hauling their loads. What would it look like?

Could the driver in question get hired by any of the megas?

CHR advertises "Your Robinson account representative helps you manage loads and is an extension of your company". That sounds like CHR has a good deal of 'agency' in regards to the carrier's business to me.

An employer is responsible for the actions an employee takes in furtherance of their business. They shouldn't be able to hide behind "they're a contractor, not an employee".

All that said, this ruling doesn't mean as much as some are making it out to be. All the Supreme Court said is "this case can continue in state court". It's pretty hard to hold contractors responsible for the actions of sub-contractors.

 

There has been the appearance of getting poor drivers off the road while simultaneously reducing actual enforcement.

I find it hard to believe that FMCSA is going to be increasing enforcement against chameleon carriers when it's budget has been cut by 14% and it's workforce by 7%.

Other than going after non-domiciled cdl holders there has been no action on increasing standards for new drivers or new carriers (MOTUS was announced in 2024). Even the action against non-domiciled cdls is limited to a few states, and I fail to comprehend how cutting funding for compliance is going to make anything better. The headline looks good, the underlying reality not so much.

Most of the involuntary CDL school removals are for entities that haven't processed any student paperwork in some time or have missed required fillings - ie providers that are no longer providing. Technically, the City of Green Bay, Green Bay Area Schools, and Brown County were all ELDT providers in good standing - none of them actually provided training, they sent people to NWTC and FVTC. They all 'voluntarily' surrendered their ELDT provider status. One of the 'involuntary removals' was for YRC. Another was Green Bay First Assembly of God. Searching the revoked list for 'district' gets over 300 results - most of them school and sanitary districts who signed up as ELDT providers before figuring out it's cheaper/easier to contract it out (side note - ELDT is nothing more than a cash grabbing scam). Meanwhile HabHab and Titan are continuing to churn out "drivers" that can't pass a Schneider check ride.

And let's not ignore that the DOJ filed an amicus brief in support of CH Robinson. The feds are actively against holding brokers and shippers responsible for the actions of the carriers they hire.

Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see FMCSA start dropping the hammer on bad actors and brokers/shippers be held responsible for the actions of their contractors. I just don't think its going to happen.

 

I remember people complaining about “some agencies” trying to get rid of the “bad apples”. Cant have it both ways. You either support the bad ones or support getting rid of them. To bad so many support destroying their own country. Most will complain even more after its to late to straighten it out…..

 

I'm with you. Once suit begins, I'm thinking CH Robinson gets out of jail free here, or maybe they settle. I'm not betting on a settlement but it wouldn't surprise me. I do agree passing the buck to the brokers insulates our decision makers. I just wish they'd be more consistent. I'd like to see every single branch of the industry do their part. Not one trying to blame the other

 

They will settle this one because it's cheaper and because the PR has been negative lately which won't help them at a trial.

The opinion did point to a need for Congress to set standards for Brokers just like Trucking Companies to follow for insurance and the like. It and the CBS report also showed CH Robinson was doing almost zero controls for carriers and double-brokering. I think this will push them more towards some safeguards, maybe look at how many trucks a company has vs. loads being booked, require ELD integration beyond tracking, etc.

I think this ends up being a good thing for smaller brokers, even if it means a need to an umbrella or liability policy, as they are more likely to have a safe carrier base and a customer base they manage transportation for, vs the MEGA Brokers who are throwing loads at whoever will take them.

The brunt of the fault still lies in the FMSCA and their inability to do their job.

 

“Commitment to safety and working with high quality carriers”. Lol. After naming Super Ego one of their carriers of the year.