Rejected load and not paid by company

Hi I was driving truck for the company in Riverside CA company name King jacobs trucking llc I did my drug test in his company and gave him a copy of my driving license and dot medical and I was working as independent contractor where I was driving his truck and getting paid 55 cents per mile . So I was bringing this load back from Rock hill NY to irwindale California it was getting unloaded on 03-30-23 and refeer trailer temperature was different then paperwork at the time of delivery so warehouse refused to take the load and then the truck owner told me that he is filing a claim and He can only pay me if claim get approved it’s been over 2 months and from last couple of weeks when I called him he said I don’t have money to pay you and he said I’m talking to a lawyer that it is your fault and you are paying for the load

does driver get in trouble with lawsuit if load is rejected
How do I get paid for my last load that I dropped off

 

yes I was driving for a company and they used to pay me .55/mile I said independent contractor because I filed my taxes with 1099 last year

 

Truck owner or you can call the company who pays everything

 

I did get I’m sorry to bother you . So here is the thing he does the dispatch and gives me the load for pickup and to deliver he takes care of the truck expenses and pay for the truck I only get paid when I drive for 55 per mile I’m just worried that he said it’s my fault and he filed a claim and hired a lawyer and said you are coming to the court too