SCOTUS could cut brokers 30-50%

The Supreme Court is weighing whether freight brokers can be sued for picking unsafe trucking companies. (supremecourt.gov) (scotusblog.com) The case is Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, argued on March 4, 2026. The justices are reviewing a Seventh Circuit ruling that favored C.H. Robinson Worldwide and held that federal law preempts negligent-selection claims against brokers. (law.cornell.edu) (supremecourt.gov) The lawsuit stems from a December 2017 crash on an Illinois highway shoulder. Shawn Montgomery was severely injured after a Caribe Transport II truck struck his parked tractor-trailer, and court filings say one of his legs was later amputated. (truckingdive.com) (law.cornell.edu) Freight brokers do not haul the load themselves; they match shippers with motor carriers. Montgomery says C.H. Robinson negligently chose Caribe, while Robinson says Congress barred that kind of state-law claim when it deregulated trucking brokerage. (scotusblog.com) (law.cornell.edu) The statute at the center of the fight is the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, usually shortened in the industry to FAAAA or F4A. It blocks states from enforcing laws related to a broker’s “price, route, or service,” but it also preserves some state “safety regulatory authority” over motor vehicles. (scotusblog.com) (truckingdive.com) That safety carveout is where the case turns. Montgomery says negligent-selection suits fit inside it; C.H. Robinson and many business groups say brokers do not own or operate trucks, so those claims regulate brokerage services, not motor vehicles. (law.cornell.edu) (scotusblog.com) The Supreme Court took the case after federal appeals courts split. The Sixth and Ninth Circuits allowed similar claims to proceed, while the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits said federal law preempted them. (scotusblog.com) (law.cornell.edu) Industry groups are treating the case as a direct challenge to the brokerage model. A National Association of Manufacturers brief told the Court that conflicting rules already impede freight flows and argued that broker tort exposure would raise costs for manufacturers, retailers and consumers. (supremecourt.gov) Broker executives are also warning about insurance and litigation costs if the Court narrows federal protections. At the Transportation Intermediaries Association conference in Scottsdale this month, incoming chair Lynn Gravely said every carrier decision could become a lawsuit in a jurisdiction “that wasn’t playing by the same rules.” (finance.yahoo.com) Plaintiff-side and truck-safety advocates frame the dispute differently. They argue that when a broker chooses a carrier with poor safety practices, state negligence law is one of the few ways injured people can try to reach a company with deeper pockets than the motor carrier’s insurance. (scotusblog.com) (truckingdive.com) The Court has not ruled yet, but a decision is expected before the current term ends by late June or early July. When it lands, shippers, brokers and carriers will get a national answer on who bears legal risk when a brokered load ends in a crash. (truckingdive.com) (supremecourt.gov)