The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down one of the most consequential transportation law decisions in years, and the ruling will reshape how victims of truck crashes pursue justice and compensation against freight brokers.
In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, decided May 14, 2026, the Court ruled unanimously that federal law does not prevent truck accident victims from bringing negligence claims in state court against freight brokers who negligently hired the trucking company involved in a crash. The decision closes a legal escape hatch that freight brokerage companies had used for years to avoid accountability after catastrophic crashes.
These brokers act as intermediaries between businesses with goods to move and trucking companies, and their number has multiplied since Congress deregulated the trucking industry in the 1980s and 1990s. The brokers do not own trucks, but they hire trucking companies and negotiate rates on behalf of their clients.
The ruling reflects the accountability standard Munley Law has argued for decades, representing victims of truck crashes. In one case, Munley Law obtained a $4 million settlement against a truck broker and shipper that selected a negligent trucking company.
Munley Law is the only firm in Pennsylvania with three truck accident attorneys who are board certified from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Our headquarters in Scranton positions us well to respond and investigate truck crashes along the many interstate highways that cross Pennsylvania, including I-80, which ranked high in our recent survey of the most dangerous interstates for trucking in the United States, with 83 fatal truck accidents in 2023.
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Call Us At 844-686-5397 The Arguments Before the Supreme Court
When a freight broker hires a trucking company with a poor safety record and a history of red flags, and that company’s truck causes a catastrophic crash, victims want to name the freight broker as a defendant.
But in some parts of the United States, courts have ruled that a 1994 act of Congress preempts (or blocks) state laws “related to a price, route, or service” set by freight brokers (reserving that right for Congress itself), and that this preemption applies to victims bringing legal claims for personal injuries in state court against brokers.
In other parts of the country, courts have ruled the other way, and the split decisions have opened the door for the Supreme Court to decide whether brokers can be sued in state court by crash victims.
The case before the Supreme Court stemmed from a 2017 truck accident in Illinois, where truck driver Shawn Montgomery was stopped on the side of the road and was severely injured when his vehicle was hit by another trucker, Yosniel Varela-Mojena, who was driving for motor carrier Caribe Transport II. Montgomery sued Caribe Transport II and C.H. Robinson, a major freight brokerage company that arranged for the shipment that Varela-Mojena’s truck was carrying.
In oral arguments on March 4, 2026, the Supreme Court heard from attorney Paul Clement representing Montgomery, from attorney Theodore J. Boutros Jr., who is representing C.H. Robinson, and from Sopan Joshi, an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general for the Trump administration, who argued as a “friend of the court” on behalf of the freight brokerage companies.
Boutros and Joshi argued that, under federal law, freight brokerage companies are not obligated to verify the safety of trucking companies when they arrange a shipment, except to ensure that any company they hire is federally licensed. It’s the responsibility of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, they said, to make sure trucking firms are safe.
Some of the Justices seemed concerned that the federal government is not providing adequate oversight to ensure that trucking companies are putting safe drivers behind the wheels of safe trucks, and some troubling statistics emerged.
“One really important number that’s practical,” said Clement, “is that 94 percent of the registered carriers out there on the roads haven’t had any meaningful federal safety inspection.”
Joshi acknowledged that FMCA is “understaffed” and “can’t possibly review the 700,000 federally registered carriers.” But he said the agency is doing some oversight.
“Of the 700,000 federally registered carriers, the agency has been able to do at least one roadside inspection for two-thirds of those carriers in the last five years. So there is some oversight, not nearly enough,” he said.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that no federal law prevents states from requiring truck drivers to wear seatbelts.
“So what’s incompatible with federal law with respect to safety to say you shouldn’t operate this if you’re a careless, negligent driver?” Sotomayor said, in questioning Boutros, the attorney for C.H. Robinson.
Boutros responded, “The states can say that. What they can’t say is that a broker can be held liable.”
“Why not?” Sotomayor said. “Because the broker is the one putting the driver in the seat.”
What the Court Decided
The Supreme Court issued its ruling on May 14, 2026. The decision was unanimous.
The Court held that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, the 1994 federal statute freight brokers cited to block state lawsuits, does not preempt state negligence claims against brokers who negligently hired an unsafe motor carrier. While the FAAAA prohibits states from regulating broker prices, routes, and services, the Court found that a general state-law duty to avoid negligent hiring is not the kind of economic regulation the statute was designed to protect. Nothing in the law shields a broker from accountability when its hiring decisions put a dangerous truck on the road.
For truck accident victims, the practical effect is significant. Before Montgomery, a freight broker whose failure to vet a carrier’s safety record led to a catastrophic crash could often escape the lawsuit entirely on federal preemption grounds. That defense is now gone. If a broker hired a carrier with documented safety violations, a history of out-of-service orders, or a pattern of crashes, victims can bring that evidence before a jury in state court.
Daniel Munley of Munley Law discussed the implications of the ruling on SiriusXM Road Dog Trucking Radio in June 2026, noting that the decision removes one of the last remaining legal shields brokers have used to avoid accountability after crashes.
The Problem of Chameleon Carriers
Another issue that came up at oral arguments is one that has long challenged victims of truck crashes: the problem of chameleon carriers. A chameleon carrier is a trucking company that pretends to go out of business to avoid lawsuits, fines, or criminal charges when one of its trucks is involved in a collision, then quickly reopens with a new name and a new USDOT number.
“The situations where there should be liability,” Clement said, “is when the broker knows, or should know, that it’s a chameleon carrier. If they’ve just been dealing with this carrier as, you know, Joe’s Trucking run by Joe Smith, and then all of a sudden Joe Smith shows up, and this time it’s Smith Trucking … the broker’s going to know.”
Freight Brokers Should Be Held Responsible
Truck crash cases involving freight brokers require an investigation of federal records, contracts, and safety histories. With the Supreme Court’s ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II in place, the legal path to holding brokers accountable is clearer than it has been in decades.
If you believe a broker may share responsibility for a crash, speak with a lawyer who handles complex trucking litigation. Munley Law has decades of experience identifying all parties potentially liable, including negligent brokers and chameleon carriers. Munley Law offers free consultations and works on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
Daniel W. Munley
Daniel W. Munley is an award-winning personal-injury attorney and champion of plaintiffs’ rights. For decades he’s won multi-million verdicts and settlements and is recognized as a national leader in truck and rideshare litigation, including a record $26 million truck settlement in Northeastern Pennsylvania and a $20 million recovery in 2024 for life-altering commercial-vehicle injuries.
