Safety Should Be Provable, Not Just Compliant

Since 1994, many courts interpreted the Federal Aviation Administration Act (FAAAA) to shield brokers from state-law negligent hiring lawsuits, finding that such claims were preempted since they related to a broker’s services in arranging transportation. In May, the Supreme Court closed that door. In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, the justices ruled unanimously that freight brokers can face negligent hiring and carrier-selection claims under state law, meaning a broker who knew, or reasonably should have known, that a carrier had safety problems can no longer treat the matter as someone else’s responsibility. A unanimous decision that sent a clear signal to the industry that safety is everyone’s job, not just the motor carrier’s.

The ruling does not create strict liability for brokers, and it does not change the underlying safety requirements carriers must meet. What it changes is the burden of proof. A broker’s carrier-selection process (which would include what it knew, when it knew it, and what it did in response) is now far more likely to be scrutinized after an accident. That makes the broker’s documentation of due diligence part of their legal exposure.

This story was originally published by FreightWaves. Read the full story at FreightWaves →