Social posts say many small carriers get ~90% of loads from brokers, heightening stakes in SCOTUS broker case

The Supreme Court heard a freight case in March that could decide when brokers can be sued for hiring unsafe carriers. (scotusblog.com) The case is Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC. Shawn Montgomery was severely injured in an Illinois highway crash involving a carrier that had been selected for a load arranged by C.H. Robinson Worldwide. (scotusblog.com) The legal fight turns on the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994, usually shortened to FAAAA. That law bars many state rules “related to a price, route, or service” of brokers and motor carriers, but it also preserves some state safety authority over motor vehicles. (scotusblog.com) (supremecourt.gov) That split has produced different rules in different parts of the country. SCOTUSblog said the Sixth and Ninth Circuits have allowed these negligent-hiring claims to proceed, while the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits have held them preempted. (scotusblog.com) The Supreme Court granted review on October 3, 2025, and heard argument on March 4, 2026. The docket lists C.H. Robinson and affiliates among the respondents. (supremecourt.gov) For small fleets, the case sits on top of a market structure in which tiny operators make up most of the industry. OOIDA’s 2024 owner-operator survey, citing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data, says 90% of fleets operate 10 trucks or fewer and nearly half are single-truck carriers. (ooida.com) Those operators have also been pressing Washington on broker conduct outside the courtroom. OOIDA said this month that it asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for stronger broker-transaction transparency rules to protect small-business truckers. (ooida.com) Carrier complaints are not limited to court filings or rulemakings. Truckstop said in a Q1 2026 carrier survey that broker relationships ranked as carriers’ single most challenging issue, citing disputes over load details, communication, fraud and payment friction. (truckstop.com) Brokers argue that broad tort liability would let states dictate how brokerage services are performed. An amicus brief on the Supreme Court docket says negligent-selection claims try to impose on brokers liability for conduct Congress assigned to motor carriers. (supremecourt.gov) Truck safety advocates and plaintiffs answer that broker selection is part of the safety chain. Land Line reported that petitioners told the justices states have long used negligent-hiring rules to police dangerous choices in transportation. (landline.media) The court’s eventual ruling will not change how freight gets booked overnight. It will decide whether one of the industry’s biggest middlemen faces a single national liability rule or a state-by-state patchwork when a brokered load ends in a crash. (scotusblog.com)