The Sixth Circuit recently became the latest Court of Appeals to weigh in on whether the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) preempts claims of negligent carrier selection under state common law for...more
While the concept of preemption dates back almost two centuries, the scope and extent of preemption remains a hot topic of litigation, especially when considering the preemptive effect of the Federal Aviation Administration...more
On January 13, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari in the case of Gauthier vs. Total Quality Logistics, leaving the decision of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals intact. This means that freight...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued another important ruling for brokers, upholding that a claim for negligent hiring against a freight broker was preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration...more
In a negligence action brought against transportation broker, Echo Global Logistics, Inc. (“Echo”), the District Court for the District of South Carolina held that Congress expressly preempted state laws related to brokers’...more
As March Madness gets underway, a California federal judge has called a flagrant foul and ejected the trucking industry from its ongoing battle to challenge Assembly Bill No. 5 (“AB5”)....more
In an important decision for freight brokers, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling in Ye v. GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc., No. 22-1805 (7th Cir. July 18, 2023), which held that a plaintiff’s claim for...more
The freight brokerage industry began humming Meat Loaf’s 1977 power ballad earlier today when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the third federal appellate court to consider the extent to which...more
Freight brokers are often sued for negligence when there is cargo damage or personal injury involving a motor carrier hired by the broker. Personal injury claims in particular can involve damages in the tens and hundreds of...more
Earlier this year, in the case of C.H. Robinson v. Miller, No. 20-1425, 2022 WL 2295168 (U.S. June 27, 2022), the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to freight brokers when it refused to grant a broker’s request for review...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied the California Trucking Association's (CTA) petition for certiorari related to a case involving federal preemption of California Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5), a law that changed the legal...more
While the U.S. Supreme Court has made a number of headlines this term, flying under the radar was its refusal to consider whether California’s controversial worker classification law should be blocked by a federal law that...more
In a brief one-line order, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the California Trucking Association’s petition to review a lower court ruling holding that federal law does not preempt California’s independent contractor law. The...more
Unfortunately, today, June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a deeply disappointing loss to the transportation industry and supply chain interests throughout the country by declining to review the California Trucking...more
The transportation and logistics industry has been widely anticipating a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court as to whether or not it will accept for review two very significant cases involving the scope of the Federal...more
On March 15, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held in the case of Rogers v. BNSF Railway Company, No. 19-C-3083, 2022 WL 787955 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 15, 2022) (slip copy) that the Federal Railway...more
On November 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order concerning the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) challenge to California’s independent contractor law, Assembly Bill (AB) 5. The Supreme...more
The State and NGOs seek to defend an emissions rule that trucking and airline trade groups are challenging in federal court. On October 13, 2021, the State of California, on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General...more
For decades, the practice of motor carriers arranging for freight to be transported by independent owner-operators—i.e., independent contractors who drive their own trucks—has been ubiquitous. However, this practice is now...more
California Trucking Association v. Bonta, No. 20-55106, 2021 WL 1656283 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2021) - Summary : The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not preempt the “ABC test” for determining whether a...more
On 30 April 2018, the California Supreme Court issued the seminal decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, adopting the “A-B-C Test” for determining independent contractor status in the state. The A-B-C...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in California Trucking Association v. Bonta, has reversed the preliminary injunction staying enforcement of AB 5 (now Labor Code § 2775). ...more
On April 28, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the application of California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB5”) to motor carriers is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a long-awaited decision on the question of whether AB5, California’s strict independent contractor misclassification statute, may be applied to motor carriers, or whether the...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held today that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) does not preempt application of California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), codified as amended at Labor...more