On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9-0 decision that every freight broker, freight forwarder, 3PL, and shipper who arranges transportation needs to understand immediately. The ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC (No. 24-1238) eliminated the federal preemption defense that brokers have used for years to avoid liability when the carriers they dispatch cause accidents. The practical effect: every carrier selection decision you make from this day forward is a potential negligent hiring claim.
This is not a theoretical risk. Four days after the ruling, the Fourth Circuit vacated a broker's summary judgment in a pending case and remanded it for reconsideration in light of Montgomery. The industry is already moving. C.H. Robinson — the nation's largest freight broker — began removing carriers from its approved network within weeks of the ruling. Insurance premiums are already rising. The legal landscape for broker-carrier relationships has permanently changed.
Before: Brokers used the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) as a federal preemption shield to get negligent hiring claims dismissed before trial.
After: The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that the FAAAA's "motor vehicle safety exception" saves negligent hiring claims from preemption. State courts can now hear these cases. Every broker in every state faces potential liability for the carriers they select.
The Case — What Actually Happened
The facts of Montgomery are straightforward and tragic. In 2017, Shawn Montgomery was stopped on the side of an Illinois highway when a Mack truck driven by Yosniel Varela-Mojena veered off course and struck his tractor-trailer. Montgomery's leg had to be amputated. He sustained other severe and permanent injuries.
Varela-Mojena was driving for Caribe Transport II, LLC — a motor carrier. The load had been arranged by C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., the nation's largest freight broker. Montgomery sued C.H. Robinson, alleging negligent hiring. He claimed C.H. Robinson knew — or should have known — that Caribe Transport had a "conditional" safety rating from FMCSA at the time it was hired, with deficiencies in driver qualification, hours of service, inspection and maintenance, and recordable crash rate.
The lower courts dismissed the claim, relying on FAAAA preemption. The Supreme Court reversed unanimously. Justice Barrett's reasoning was direct: requiring C.H. Robinson to exercise ordinary care in selecting a carrier "concerns" motor vehicles — most obviously, the trucks that will transport the goods. The FAAAA's safety exception saves the claim from preemption.
What "Ordinary Care" Means for Carrier Selection
The legal standard is not perfection. Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence — the most industry-sympathetic opinion in the case — was explicit: brokers "just have to hire carriers that actually have a reasonable policy" and "the broker is not going to have a problem if it's asking the hard questions of the carrier." The key insight is that brokers who document their vetting process and can show they reviewed relevant safety data will be in a defensible position.
The problem is that most brokers' current vetting processes are dangerously inadequate for the post-Montgomery world. Checking active authority and insurance — the minimum most brokers do today — is not sufficient. What courts will examine is:
- Did you check the carrier's FMCSA safety rating? A conditional or unsatisfactory rating is a red flag that must be addressed before tendering a load.
- Did you review CSA BASIC scores? Seven categories of compliance data — unsafe driving, hours of service, driver fitness, controlled substances, vehicle maintenance, hazardous materials, crash indicator — are all publicly available and all relevant to a negligent hiring defense.
- Did you check crash history? The number of fatal, injury, and tow-away crashes in the carrier's history are FMCSA public record.
- Did you check out-of-service rates? A carrier whose vehicles or drivers are being placed out of service at rates significantly above national averages is a documented risk factor.
- Did you document your review? This is the most important question. Whatever you checked, can you prove you checked it — with a timestamp that shows what the data said on the day you tendered the load?
When a lawsuit is filed, plaintiff's attorneys will subpoena: the carrier's FMCSA authority status, SAFER and SMS data, BASIC percentile scores, inspection and out-of-service history, crash history, safety rating — and alongside those, your internal emails, vetting files, written policies, training materials, and the actual record of what was reviewed and who approved the carrier. If you have no documentation, you have no defense.
The Seven CSA BASIC Categories — What Brokers Must Now Review
CSA BASIC scores are the centerpiece of carrier safety data. They are generated from roadside inspection data and assigned as percentile scores — a higher percentile means worse performance relative to peers. FMCSA flags carriers when their percentile exceeds intervention thresholds. Any carrier with flagged BASICs represents an elevated risk that brokers must either address or document why they tendered the load anyway.
| BASIC Category | What It Measures | Post-Montgomery Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Unsafe Driving | Speeding, recklessness, improper lane changes | Direct evidence of negligent carrier selection if flagged |
| HOS Compliance | Hours of service violations, fatigued driving | Driver fatigue is a top cause of fatal crashes |
| Driver Fitness | Unlicensed drivers, medical certification failures | Caribe Transport was flagged here — directly cited in Montgomery |
| Controlled Substances | Drug and alcohol violations | Immediate disqualifier in most courts |
| Vehicle Maintenance | Brake failures, equipment defects, tire violations | High percentile = known equipment risk |
| Hazardous Materials | HazMat handling compliance | Applies only to carriers transporting regulated materials |
| Crash Indicator | Crash involvement relative to miles traveled | Most compelling evidence for plaintiffs |
The Chameleon Carrier Problem — A Hidden Risk
One of the most dangerous carrier selection risks that Montgomery has brought into sharp focus is the chameleon carrier — a trucking company that has shut down after accumulating safety violations and restarted under a new name and DOT number to escape its safety history. FMCSA has been rolling out MOTUS, a new registration infrastructure with identity proofing and entity relationship detection, specifically to address this problem.
For brokers, the practical concern is this: a carrier that registered 60 days ago with a clean safety record may be a chameleon carrier with years of violations hidden behind a new DOT number. Checking registration age, verifying the physical address, and looking for shared principals with previously shut-down carriers is now part of reasonable broker due diligence.
What a Defensible Carrier Vetting Process Looks Like in 2026
Based on the Montgomery ruling and industry best practice, a defensible vetting process should include at minimum:
- FMCSA authority verification — active, no pending revocation
- Insurance verification — minimum BI&PD coverage on file, no pending cancellation
- Safety rating check — Satisfactory is ideal; Conditional requires documented justification; Unsatisfactory is disqualifying
- CSA BASIC review — all seven categories, flagged BASICs documented and justified or disqualified
- Out-of-service rate review — compared to national averages
- Crash history review — last 24-36 months, fatal crashes are disqualifying indicators
- Registration age check — carriers under 6 months old require additional scrutiny
- Litigation history check — federal court records for prior negligence claims
- Timestamped documentation — a record of what was checked, what was found, and who approved the selection, captured at the time of load tender
Brokers who maintained documented, consistent carrier vetting processes before Montgomery are in a strong position. Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence stated explicitly: if brokers "have acted reasonably and arranged transportation with reputable trucking companies," they should be able to successfully defend against state tort suits. The documentation is the defense.
Immediate Steps for Every Broker, Forwarder, and 3PL
- Audit your current carrier network today. Pull every approved carrier's FMCSA data. Any carrier with a conditional or unsatisfactory rating, flagged BASICs, or elevated out-of-service rates needs to be reviewed and either re-approved with documentation or removed.
- Build or update your carrier selection policy. Your policy should specify minimum safety rating, maximum BASIC percentile thresholds, and specific disqualifying conditions. Put it in writing.
- Start timestamping your vetting decisions. Every time you approve a carrier for a load, preserve a record of what safety data you reviewed and when. This is the most important change you can make right now.
- Review your contracts. Carrier agreements should include indemnification language and representations regarding safety compliance.
- Talk to your insurance broker. Contingent auto liability and broker E&O underwriters will increasingly require documented vetting programs. Your premiums and coverage limits may be affected.
- Re-vet your entire approved carrier list. Carriers that were approved before Montgomery under a lower vetting standard need to be re-screened under the new standard.
Montgomery applies to accidents that have already happened. If you have pending claims involving carriers you dispatched without adequate vetting documentation, consult your attorney immediately. The ruling may affect the viability of those cases regardless of when the accident occurred.