The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a unanimous decision that freight brokers can now be held legally liable for hiring trucking companies that employ drivers with dangerous practices, including foreign nationals without proper documentation.
In the ruling, Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored an opinion overturning a lower court’s dismissal of Shawn Montgomery’s lawsuit against C.H. Robinson, one of America’s largest freight brokers. Montgomery suffered severe leg injuries in a 2017 crash caused by a speeding semi-truck driver with a history of reckless driving and multiple prior crashes.
Montgomery’s legal team asserted that the trucker had been cited for careless driving months before the incident, and the carrier he worked for was involved in at least three accidents within five months. They argued that C.H. Robinson should share liability for failing to identify these safety concerns.
C.H. Robinson maintained that federal law supersedes state laws in this context, as brokers operate under federal regulations. The Supreme Court rejected this argument, finding that Montgomery’s claims fall under an exception for safety regulations.
The Transportation Intermediaries Association, representing freight brokers, described the ruling as “deeply disappointing.” Its president and CEO, Chris Burroughs, likened it to “asking travel agents to evaluate the safety of a given airline despite the fact that the airline has been licensed to fly by the federal government.”
Over two dozen states have supported Montgomery’s appeal, emphasizing the need for enhanced safety in an industry that moves billions of tons of goods annually. While the ruling does not guarantee Montgomery will win his lawsuit against C.H. Robinson, it establishes a precedent that freight brokers must exercise greater due diligence when selecting carriers.