Father. Husband. Professor of Law. The Armchair Attorney®. Legal & supply chain. Tweets & threads are mine alone.
Joined February 2022
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How resilient is your heavy-duty repair & maintenance network?
Well, if you don’t know Fullbay, then you might be missing out on over 5,600 rooftops that create one of the largest connected service networks in North America.
Make no mistake, if your goal is to safely deliver freight on-time & undamaged, then you better understand the business of maintenance & repair.
Swift to the Shop Floor: Fullbay’s CEO on Safer Roads & Smarter Repair xitter.cf/i/broadcasts/1dGYlaEvX…
A Dallas County Court has entered final judgment in Lipe v. Lupus Superior, et al. confirming a $604,025,000 award arising from a March 2021 multi-vehicle crash in Mississippi.
We knew this meteor was coming.
The judgment incorporates the jury’s findings that driver Gorgonio Gonzalez, motor carrier Lupus Superior, and broker C.H. Robinson were all negligent (45%, 32%, and 23% respectively). What caught my attention was that the jury also found that Gonzalez was acting as a borrowed employee of C.H. Robinson and was operating the truck in furtherance of a mission for the broker’s benefit, subject to its control over the details of the work.
On those findings, the court held C.H. Robinson vicariously liable for Gonzalez’s 45% share. Combined with its own 23% direct negligence, this raises C.H. Robinson’s total responsibility to 68%. Because that figure exceeds 50%, Texas law makes the broker jointly and severally liable for the entire recoverable damages award.
And what about those damages?
The judgment awards roughly $451.5 million in past damages and $152.5 million in future damages, plus approximately $107.5 million in prejudgment interest at 6.75% running from March 31, 2023. Post-judgment interest continues at the same rate. The order is final and appealable. The central feature of the judgment is the borrowed-employee and control findings. They convert a 23% direct-liability allocation into full joint-and-several exposure for the $604 million award, independent of any separate negligent-hiring theory.
Freight doesn’t stop, but neither does post-judgment interest.
Matthew Leffler retweeted
Looking forward to the panel at #VMA26 @VAMaritime conference with the heads of #ZIM, #ONE and @CMAShipping with Tamekia Flack of @WSC_shipping.
Batten down the hatches, I'm off to Norfolk for the Virginia Maritime Association's International Trade Symposium.
Now in its 23rd year, the International Trade Symposium has earned its reputation as the East Coast’s premier conference for shipping, ports, logistics, & trade. It's also my first time attending. Lucky number 23!
Eric Jehu will host the Late Night Freight Show with guests including David Bang, CEO of Americas of LX Pantos; Cathy O'Brien, Chief Commercial Officer at Chemco Ireland Limited; and Victoria Wilmore former Director of External Supply Services at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.
Ol' Armchair Attorney® will be right in the mix. If you see me, say hello! And of course, don't forget to sign the waiver. And I get to meet @mercoglianos IRL! What could be better?
Here is my take on the RICO case against CH & RXO. While I understand the plaintiff carriers' arguments, I don't think the RICO claims survive the pleading stage.
Six trucking companies sued CH & TQL under civil RICO, claiming the brokers won shipper business by using carriers that cut costs with forced labor, fake logs, & safety shortcuts. They want lost profits tripled plus fees.
TL;DR: The suit is likely to fail. Under the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Anza v. Ideal Steel, RICO requires a direct link between the alleged crime & the injury. Lost bids & squeezed margins are too remote, the more direct victims would be drivers, misled shippers, & the public, not rival carriers.
Lawyers, the cause of & the solution to, all of life's problems. Right, @maybedanielleee?
freightwaves.com/news/broker…
Matthew Leffler retweeted
Can a carrier sue brokers for hiring "unsafe" trucks when 30% of its OWN fleet is Out of Service? Matthew Leffler exposes the hypocrisy behind new broker liability lawsuits.
With half the plaintiff carriers recording vehicle OOS rates of 26% to 30%, Leffler explains why struggling fleets are trying to shift blame to brokers instead of maintaining their own rigs.
All brokers are making 15-20% margin per load, right @thefreightnerd? Can you confirm, @FreightAlley?
And here it is.
These motor carrier plaintiffs worked for a shipper & allegedly lost the business to TQL & CH. They argue they cannot service the account in a cost effective way, because the defendants allegedly use unsafe carriers.
Spoiler: that’s not how RICO works
Does @freightcaviar know they made it into a federal RICO lawsuit? Asking for a friend.
A bit of light reading before I go live with @FreightAlley today.
What to expect?
Takes so hot, you better have an oven mitt.
Matthew Leffler retweeted
It's a new era for FMCSA, and we are putting Safety, Enforcement, and Accountability at the forefront.
FMCSA Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison recently sat down with Matthew Leffler of Armchair Attorney @ArmchairAtty during the Inland Distribution Conference @JOC_Updates in Chicago to discuss how FMCSA is strengthening the entire lifecycle of the commercial motor vehicle industry.
#FMCSA #Trucking #TransportationSafety #Inland26
ALT FMCSA Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison recently sat down with Matthew Leffler of Armchair Attorney during the Inland Distribution Conference in Chicago.
ALT FMCSA Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison recently sat down with Matthew Leffler of Armchair Attorney during the Inland Distribution Conference in Chicago.
ALT FMCSA Deputy Administrator Jesse Elison recently sat down with Matthew Leffler of Armchair Attorney during the Inland Distribution Conference in Chicago.
Matthew Leffler retweeted
The economy hinges upon the AI build out and capex
MSU Supply Chain Management Professor Dr. Jason Miller explains why rising borrowing costs threaten marginal AI CapEx projects.
While freight volumes show modest 1.5% growth, rising inflation pressures and lengthening vendor lead times point to tight Fed policy. Higher interest rates increase hyperscaler borrowing costs via bond yields and private credit, forcing tech firms to re-evaluate data center investments.