Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC — Case Analysis

Case Summary

  • Case: Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al.
  • Docket: 24-1238
  • Citation: 608 U.S. ___ (2026)
  • Decided: May 14, 2026
  • Vote: 9-0 (unanimous)
  • Opinion: Justice Amy Coney Barrett
  • Concurrence: Justice Kavanaugh (joined by Alito)

    • The Facts

    Shawn Montgomery, a tractor-trailer driver, was struck by a truck driven by Yosniel Varela-Mojena, who was carrying plastic pots for Caribe Transport II, LLC. The shipment was arranged by C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., one of the largest U.S. freight brokers (83,000 customers, 450,000 contract carriers, 37M annual shipments).

    Montgomery sustained severe injuries including leg amputation.

    Critical fact: Caribe Transport had a "CONDITIONAL" FMCSA safety rating with documented deficiencies in:

  • Qualification of drivers
  • Hours of service compliance
  • Inspection, repair, and maintenance
  • Recordable crash rate

    • What the Court Held

    State negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers are NOT preempted by the FAAAA.

    The FAAAA's safety exception (49 U.S.C. §14501(c)(2)(A)) preserves state authority to require brokers to exercise ordinary care when selecting carriers.

    Key reasoning:

  • Common-law duties of care = "safety regulatory authority"
  • Requiring a broker to exercise ordinary care in carrier selection "concerns motor vehicles"
  • The Seventh Circuit's "direct link" requirement was too narrow

    • What a Plaintiff Must Prove

  • Duty: Broker owed a duty of ordinary care in carrier selection
  • Breach: Failed to exercise that care (e.g., selected carrier with known safety deficiencies)
  • Knowledge: Broker knew or should have known about safety problems (data is publicly available)
  • Proximate causation: Carrier's deficiencies were foreseeable cause of accident
  • Damages: Actual injuries suffered

    • What FMCSA Data the Court Says Brokers Must Check

    Tier 1: SAFER System Data (free, no registration)

  • Safety Rating (Satisfactory / Conditional / Unsatisfactory)
  • Operating Authority Status
  • Insurance/Bond Status
  • Out-of-Service Summary (OOS rates)
  • Crash Information (fatal, injury, tow counts)
  • Fleet Size (power units, drivers)
  • Authority Age

    • Tier 2: SMS BASIC Scores (free, by DOT number)

  • Unsafe Driving (intervention threshold: 65th percentile)
  • Crash Indicator
  • Hours-of-Service Compliance
  • Vehicle Maintenance
  • Controlled Substances/Alcohol
  • Driver Fitness
  • Hazardous Materials Compliance

    • Tier 3: Additional Factors (from oral argument + briefs)

  • Driver English proficiency (raised by Kavanaugh)
  • Drug testing programs
  • Prior enforcement actions
  • Insurance coverage adequacy ($750K federal minimum for general freight)

    • The Kavanaugh Concurrence

    > "It is doubtful that Congress, through indirect language in an economic-deregulation statute, would allow brokers to operate in a black hole with no meaningful safety-related regulation."

    He cited:

  • ~500,000 reported truck accidents in 2022
  • ~5,000 deaths
  • ~114,000 injuries

    • He acknowledged the ruling would increase litigation/insurance/due diligence costs but concluded a regulatory "black hole" would be worse.

    What Documentation Brokers Must Maintain

  • Written carrier vetting policies (auditable)
  • Pre-dispatch data pulls (timestamped records of what was reviewed)
  • Red flag handling (documented process)
  • Selection rationale (why this carrier over alternatives)
  • Ongoing monitoring (periodic re-vetting)

    • > "If a broker has no documented carrier vetting process, that absence is itself evidence of negligence."

    Industry Impact

  • 28,000 brokers now exposed to state tort liability
  • Craig Fuller (FreightWaves): potentially "an extinction event for 30-50% of all freight brokers"
  • Insurance premiums for brokers expected to increase significantly
  • 94% of carriers have never had a safety exam by FMCSA
  • Brokers arrange ~1/3 of all U.S. freight

    • What This Means for freight.rootz.global

    Every load dispatch is now potential discovery evidence. The vetting record system provides:

  • Automated FMCSA data pulls with timestamps
  • SHA-256 hashed snapshots of what the data showed at check time
  • Risk scoring based on Montgomery factors
  • Red flag documentation with decision trail
  • Immutable audit trail via Polygon attestation
  • AI-accessible tools so broker's AI agents can vet carriers in seconds

    • The broker doesn't need a better database — they need a verification receipt that holds up in court.