Overview
- The Supreme Court, in a 9–0 ruling Thursday, cleared state negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers and sent Shawn Montgomery’s case back to the lower court.
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the opinion, and a concurrence by Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito cautioned the decision does not make brokers routinely liable if they act reasonably.
- The Court said the 1994 trucking law’s safety exception preserves state authority over motor-vehicle safety, so claims about a broker’s care in choosing a carrier concern the trucks on the road.
- Montgomery alleges C.H. Robinson hired Caribe Transport II despite a federal “conditional” safety rating and recent crashes, and the company said it was disappointed by the ruling while stressing its focus on safety.
- The decision is likely to drive stricter broker vetting and more lawsuits, a change safety advocates back as regulators have missed risky “chameleon” carriers that rebrand and show higher severe-crash rates.