Shawn Montgomery was a truck driver working on an Illinois highway. His tractor-trailer was parked on the shoulder of the road when a Mack Truck, driven by a man named Yosniel Varela-Mojena, veered off course and slammed into him. The crash was devastating. Montgomery lost his leg and suffered other serious, permanent injuries.
Varela-Mojena was hauling a load for a trucking company called Caribe Transport II. Caribe Transport got the job through a transportation broker, C.H. Robinson Worldwide.
Here's a key detail: Caribe Transport had a "conditional" safety rating from the federal government. That means government inspectors had already found problems with the company, including issues with how it qualified its drivers, how many hours its drivers worked, and how well it maintained its trucks. Montgomery argued that C.H. Robinson knew, or should have known, that hiring Caribe Transport was a dangerous choice.
What Is a Transportation Broker?
Think of a broker as a middleman. When a company needs to ship products from one place to another, it often contacts a broker to find a trucker to do the job. The broker makes money by charging the shipping company a little more than it pays the trucker.
There are roughly 28,000 brokers in the United States, and they arrange transportation for about a third of all freight shipped across the country. That's a huge part of the economy. So the rules that apply to brokers matter a lot.
The Legal Question
Montgomery sued C.H. Robinson, saying the broker was careless, or "negligent," in choosing Caribe Transport. But C.H. Robinson fought back with a legal argument based on a federal law called the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, or FAAAA for short.
The FAAAA was passed by Congress in the 1990s to prevent states from creating a patchwork of different rules for the trucking industry. Its general purpose is to prohibit states from enforcing laws "related to a price, route, or service" of brokers or trucking companies.
C.H. Robinson argued that Montgomery's lawsuit was exactly the kind of state law case the FAAAA was supposed to block. And for a while, the courts agreed. Both the trial court and the appeals court ruled in favor of C.H. Robinson, saying federal law shielded the broker from Montgomery's claims.
But the FAAAA has an important exception. It says that even though states can't regulate prices, routes, and services, they can still enforce safety rules "with respect to motor vehicles."
Montgomery's case came down to one question: Does a lawsuit claiming a broker carelessly hired an unsafe trucking company count as a safety rule "with respect to motor vehicles"?
The Supreme Court Says Yes
On May 14, 2026, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously, meaning every single Justice agreed, that Montgomery's lawsuit was protected by the safety exception and was not blocked by the FAAAA.
The Court explained that the phrase "with respect to motor vehicles" simply means "concerning" or "about" motor vehicles. When Montgomery sued C.H. Robinson for negligently choosing Caribe Transport, his claim was clearly "about" motor vehicles, after all, it was about the trucks that would carry the goods.
The Court also confirmed that traditional state-law duties, like the duty to use reasonable care when hiring someone for dangerous work, are part of a state's power to regulate safety. Since Montgomery's negligent-hiring claim concerned motor vehicle safety, the FAAAA's safety exception saved it from being blocked.
Why This Matters for People Hurt in Trucking Accidents
Before this decision, brokers in many parts of the country could hide behind the FAAAA. Courts in some areas, like the Seventh Circuit and the Eleventh Circuit, had ruled that the safety exception didn't apply to brokers at all. That meant if a broker knowingly picked an unsafe trucking company that caused a terrible crash, the injured person might have no way to hold the broker responsible.
Now, that has changed everywhere. Here's what the decision means for people who are hurt:
1. Brokers can be held accountable
If a broker carelessly picks a trucking company with a bad safety record, or one that is ignoring obvious signs of deficiencies in safety from their drivers, and someone gets hurt because of it, the injured person can now sue the broker in any state. This closes a gap that had protected brokers from any responsibility for the carriers they chose.
2. Government safety records are powerful evidence
The federal government rates trucking companies on their safety through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Montgomery used Caribe Transport's poor safety rating to show that C.H. Robinson should have known better. These ratings are available to the public, which means injured people and their lawyers can use them to build strong cases.
3. Brokers now have a reason to choose safer trucking companies
When brokers know they could face a lawsuit if they pick an unsafe carrier, they have a powerful reason to be more careful. As supporters of Montgomery's case pointed out, "if brokers can be held liable for disregarding poor safety records, they have a strong incentive to do business only with safe and reliable motor carriers." That's good news for everyone who shares the road with big trucks.
4. The safety exception covers a lot of ground
The Court interpreted the phrase "with respect to motor vehicles" broadly. Any claim that "concerns" the trucks used in transportation falls within the exception.
5. States keep their power to protect people.
The Court made clear that common-law duties, the basic rules that require people and companies to act carefully, are a core part of how states keep the public safe. Congress wanted to deregulate the economics of the trucking industry, not strip away safety protections.
What Comes Next
The Supreme Court's ruling means that brokers can no longer escape accountability altogether. If a broker ignores warning signs, like a carrier's poor safety record or a driver’s repeated safety violations, and someone gets hurt, the injured person now has a real path to justice.
The decision may also push Congress to act. Justice Kavanaugh, who joined the majority but also wrote separately, noted that the Court's ruling creates an odd situation: brokers can now be sued for their role in interstate shipments but may still be shielded from lawsuits involving shipments that stay within a single state. He pointed out that brokers could ask Congress to change the law if they wanted to.
For now, though, the law is clear: safety comes first. Brokers have to think carefully about which trucking companies they hire and the drivers employed by those companies. And if they don't, the people who are hurt because of their choices have the right to hold them responsible.
About the author: Attorney Matthew Dowling
For over a decade, Matthew Dowling represented insurance companies and corporations, defending them against plaintiff claims involving high-value trucking, automotive, and product liability disputes.
He brings that inside knowledge to his work at Nicolet Law, where he now represents plaintiffs who are seeking justice after trucking accidents.
If you have been in a trucking accident, reach out to Nicolet Law for a free consultation. Call 1-855-NICOLET or send a message through our online contact form.
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