Two Broker Liability Cases Advance as Carrier-Vetting Risks Grow

Two federal cases are keeping freight-broker liability in focus after the U.S. Supreme Court's Montgomery decision narrowed a key preemption defense. FreightWaves reported August 21 that litigation involving J.B. Hunt in Arizona and AONE Brokerage Company in Nevada is moving forward. Neither matter is a final ruling that a broker is liable, and the allegations remain subject to court review.

The Arizona case followed an October 2023 crash involving a carrier hired through J.B. Hunt's brokerage operation. J.B. Hunt asked for summary judgment, arguing that the motor carrier alone hired, supervised and dispatched the driver. Plaintiffs countered that the broker ignored alleged safety alerts, crashes and inspection violations. The court had not ruled on that request when FreightWaves published its report.

In Hardy v. Singh, a Nevada federal judge denied competing summary-judgment requests on August 11. AONE tendered a hay load to Lucky Transport, which allegedly passed it to GRK Transport even though Lucky lacked broker authority. The judge identified evidence that could support further examination of whether AONE knew Lucky routinely subcontracted loads and whether that conduct contributed to the crash. Denial of summary judgment means disputed issues can continue; it does not decide negligence or damages.

The practical lesson for brokers and carriers is documentation. A current FMCSA snapshot should be one part of a repeatable vetting process that also checks operating authority, insurance, identity, contact changes, safety history and whether subcontracting is permitted. Brokers should preserve why a carrier was selected and how warning signs were resolved. Carriers should read load confirmations carefully and never re-broker freight without lawful authority and contractual permission. Because liability standards depend on the facts and jurisdiction, companies should obtain legal advice for their own procedures rather than treating one pending case as a universal rule.