Trucking

State of play.

• The Supreme Court holds the most consequential open question in trucking liability. Oral arguments in Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson (No. 24-1238) are complete; the decision will determine whether the FAAAA preempts state negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers nationwide, resolving a circuit split that has shielded brokers from tort liability in most federal courts .
• New Jersey has activated its 2021 misclassification statute against a drayage carrier, securing a $2.775 million settlement against STG Logistics and STG Drayage—the first lawsuit resolved under the statute—with $7.5 million in breach penalties held in reserve and recovery achieved despite STG's bankruptcy filing .
• Autonomous trucking's SPAC-era disclosure exposure is crystallizing, as Embark Technology's 2016 seed pitch deck resurfaces alongside its $600 million SPAC merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II, inviting SEC scrutiny of the gap between early investor promises and public-company disclosures .
• GM's pivot to gas-powered trucks and defense production under Trump administration policy signals a durable shift in domestic truck manufacturing economics, with tariff-driven domestic production commitments and Pentagon-facilitated defense partnerships creating new regulatory and antitrust exposure for OEMs .
• For counsel advising carriers, brokers, shippers, or logistics companies, the practical baseline is a liability landscape in simultaneous flux across three fronts: judicial redefinition of intermediary duty-of-care, active state AG enforcement on worker classification, and emerging SPAC-disclosure liability in the autonomous vehicle sector.

Where things stand.

• FAAAA preemption of broker negligent-hiring claims is the dominant unresolved doctrine. Federal circuits have broadly held that state tort claims against brokers for carrier selection are preempted under 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c); the Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson will either confirm that shield or open brokers to state tort liability in all jurisdictions .
• Shipper duty-of-care to third parties is unsettled in Texas and nationally. The Texas Supreme Court's review of the Home Depot case (No. 25-0317) tests whether a shipper's contractual engagement of a carrier is sufficient, or whether independent vetting is required to avoid liability for carrier negligence toward third parties .
• State AG enforcement on driver misclassification is active and escalating. New Jersey's $2.775 million STG settlement—first under its 2021 misclassification statute—demonstrates the state's willingness to pursue direct litigation, recover damages in bankruptcy contexts, and hold breach penalties in reserve as a compliance lever .
• FMCSA's non-domiciled CDL final rule is in force, limiting non-domiciled CDL eligibility to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visa holders and imposing new verification obligations on carriers .
• FMCSA's broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility final rule has imposed new bonding, trust-fund, and disclosure obligations on licensed brokers, with delinquency consequences that include suspension of operating authority .
• Zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policies for safety-sensitive drivers are being upheld against disability-accommodation defenses. A Québec court reinstated the termination of a commercial driver who tested positive, rejecting an alcoholism accommodation argument—a data point for US carriers calibrating their own policies against ADA exposure .
• Rail consolidation is reshaping intermodal competition. The UP-NS merger resubmission—39% combined market share, 50,000+ route miles, STB decision expected 2027—is the structural backdrop against which trucking's intermodal competitive position will be set for a generation .
• FedEx Freight is separating as an independent LTL carrier, with the spinoff targeted for June 2026; shipper contracts, carrier agreements, and indemnification arrangements tied to the FedEx parent entity require review for assignment, novation, or termination rights .
• Port and waterfront truck driver injury claims without contemporaneous documentation face systematic denial barriers. The $325,000 Charleston port driver brain-injury settlement—initially denied for lack of video or witness corroboration—illustrates the proof-development burden in disputed workers' compensation claims for this driver category .

Latest developments.

• New Jersey AG secures $2.775 million settlement with STG Logistics and STG Drayage—first lawsuit resolved under New Jersey's 2021 misclassification statute—covering hundreds of misclassified drayage drivers, with $7.5 million in breach penalties available and recovery achieved despite STG's bankruptcy .
• Embark Technology's 2016 seed pitch deck resurfaces as the company pursues a $600 million SPAC merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II, drawing SEC scrutiny to the gap between early investor claims and public-company disclosures .
• GM formalizes pivot to gas-powered trucks and defense production under Trump administration policy, including a Lockheed Martin collaboration on military vehicles, with EBIT guidance raised to $14 billion–$16 billion despite a 4% vehicle-sales decline .
• Steinberg Law Firm announces $325,000 settlement for Charleston port truck driver whose traumatic brain injury claim was initially denied for lack of documentation .

Active questions and open splits.

• FAAAA preemption scope for broker negligent-hiring claims. The circuit split is real: some circuits hold all state tort claims against brokers preempted; others carve out safety-related claims. Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson will set the national rule—and the answer will either open brokers to multi-state tort exposure or permanently insulate them .
• Whether the FAAAA safety exception reaches broker carrier-selection practices. Even if the Court finds preemption, the scope of the motor-vehicle safety carve-out is contested. A narrow reading protects brokers; a broad reading could preserve state claims that directly implicate vehicle operation decisions .
• Shipper duty of care to third-party motorists. The Texas Supreme Court has not resolved whether a shipper's obligation to vet carriers extends to third parties injured by those carriers. A duty finding would require shippers to build independent carrier-qualification programs beyond contractual requirements—with insurance and indemnification consequences nationwide .
• State misclassification enforcement reach in bankruptcy. The New Jersey STG settlement demonstrates that state AG enforcement can recover damages even where the defendant has filed for bankruptcy—a structural enforcement advantage that other states may replicate. Whether the "reasonably knowable" independent-contractor standard under New Jersey's 2021 statute becomes a template for other jurisdictions is unresolved .
• Autonomous trucking SPAC disclosure liability. Embark's situation raises the question of how SEC enforcement will treat the gap between seed-round technology claims and SPAC-era forward-looking statements. No settled standard exists for AV-sector deployment-timeline disclosures, and the resurfaced pitch deck creates a documentary record for comparison .
• ADA and accommodation limits for safety-sensitive driver terminations. The Québec zero-tolerance ruling is persuasive, not binding, in US jurisdictions. Whether US courts will similarly hold that alcoholism does not shield a CDL driver from termination under a zero-tolerance policy—given FMCSA drug-and-alcohol program requirements—remains an active tension between ADA accommodation doctrine and safety-sensitive-position carve-outs .
• GM defense-production partnerships and antitrust exposure. Pentagon-facilitated discussions between GM, Ford, and defense contractors—escalating to formal partnerships—raise unresolved questions about whether coordinated domestic production commitments under tariff pressure create antitrust exposure or trigger new regulatory obligations for OEMs .

What to watch.

• Supreme Court decision in Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson (No. 24-1238)—expected by end of the current Term—will immediately reset broker liability exposure and insurance pricing across the freight industry .
• Texas Supreme Court oral argument and decision in the Home Depot shipper-liability case (No. 25-0317); a duty finding reshapes carrier-vetting obligations for every shipper using independent contractors .
• Whether additional state AGs adopt New Jersey's direct-litigation model under their own misclassification statutes, particularly in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts where drayage enforcement has historically been active .
• SEC review of Embark's SPAC merger filings and any enforcement action on autonomous vehicle disclosure practices—the template for how the agency treats AV-sector deployment-timeline claims in public offerings .
• STB substantive review of the resubmitted UP-NS merger application and any additional remedy demands; the competitive-condition framework will influence intermodal pricing and trucking's modal share .
• FedEx Freight spinoff closing and any contract-continuity disputes that surface in the transition period .