Supreme Court Removes Liability Shield for Freight Brokers

On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC finding that freight brokers could be held liable pursuant to a negligent hiring claim for motor vehicle accidents involving motor carriers with whom they contract. The case resolves a split between the Sixth and Ninth Circuits, which had previously found that brokers could be found liable for negligent hiring of motor carriers, and the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, which had held that such claims were preempted by federal law.

Shawn Montgomery, the plaintiff in the case, was injured when a driver employed by Caribe Transport II (“Caribe”) veered off the road striking the vehicle in which he was sitting. Caribe had a “conditional” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”). The FMCSA had found that Caribe had deficiencies regarding driver qualifications, compliance with driver hours of service requirements, vehicle repair and maintenance, and recordable crash rates. Based on Caribe’s safety rating, Montgomery argued that the broker that hired Caribe knew or should have known that choosing Caribe “to transport goods was reasonably likely to result in crashes that would injure others.”

The District Court and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Montgomery’s claim was preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (“FAAAA”) and did not qualify for the safety exception to the FAAAA’s preemption language. The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts’ holdings, finding that the FAAAA preserved a state’s ability to regulate safety “with respect to motor vehicles” which included duties and standards of care imposed by common law. 

What Does the Decision Mean For Brokers?

The Supreme Court’s decision did not contain clear guidance regarding actions that brokers needed to take to vet the carriers with whom they are contracting. Whether the broker owes a duty when selecting a carrier and the standard of care the broker must follow will be questions answered by state tort law. States that have adopted the negligent hiring doctrine have found that an entity hiring an independent contractor for a task that can cause harm to others if not performed properly can be liable for negligent acts of the contractor if they did not exercise reasonable care in selecting the contractor. 

Prior cases finding that brokers could be sued for the negligent hiring of motor carriers have focused on the publicly available safety data from FMCSA, including driver and vehicle out of service rates. Thus, courts appear to expect that brokers should be considering the carrier’s safety rating and publicly available data regarding compliance with FMCSA’s safety regulations when making carrier selections. This decision also has implications for third party logistics providers and other companies that select carriers for shippers.

What Can Brokers Do to Protect Themselves from Liability?

In the absence of a clear standard of care for vetting carriers, these are some actions brokers and third party logistics providers that are selecting carriers can take to protect themselves in light of the decision:

• Assess insurance coverage and consult an insurance broker regarding appropriate insurance coverage.
• Consider developing a written policy for vetting carriers that takes into account publicly available data from FMCSA.
• Consult carrier contracts and terms and conditions to ensure that appropriate carrier oversight requirements are in place.
• Consider whether to request additional information regarding safety practices from carriers when working with a carrier for the first time.
• Consider whether records needed to defend against potential liability claims are retained for a sufficient length of time.

This decision will likely lead to an increase in claims against brokers for accidents involving carriers contracted by the brokers. The Supreme Court, however, indicated that its decision should not be read to mean that brokers should routinely be liable for negligence in truck accidents. Plaintiff’s counsel in the case acknowledged as much, stating that brokers would have to hire carriers with reasonable safety policies and that the broker would not be subject to liability “if it’s asking the hard questions of the carrier.” The key to limiting liability to the extent possible is therefore for brokers vetting carriers to ask the “hard questions.”

For specific questions about the decision, or to discuss its potential impact on your business, please contact Tim Lee, Tom Healy, or your Honigman attorney.