United States Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split and Holds That Negligent Hiring State Law Claims Against Transportation Brokers Are Not Barred As A Matter Of Law Because They Fall within FAAAA’s Safety Exception.

Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC

United States Supreme Court
May 14, 2026
JSH Attorneys: Clarice Spicker & Elizabeth Garcia

Montgomery was injured when a tractor-trailer operated by an employee of a motor carrier, Caribe Transport, struck his vehicle.  Montgomery sued the driver and motor carrier, as well as the freight broker (C.H. Robinson), which had arranged for the transportation of the load involved in the accident.  He alleged that C.H. Robinson negligently hired Caribe Transport to haul the load, asserting that the carrier had a poor federal safety rating reflecting deficiencies in areas such as driver qualifications, hours-of-service compliance, maintenance, and crash history. According to Montgomery, C.H. Robinson knew or should have known that selecting Caribe Transport to transport goods was reasonably likely to cause an accident.

The district court held the negligent hiring claim against C.H. Robinson was preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (“FAAAA”), which broadly preempts state laws relating to the prices, routes, and services of motor carriers or brokers, with respect to the transportation of property.  The court further held that the claim did not fall within the statute’s “safety exception,” which preserves state authority to regulate motor vehicle safety. The Supreme Court reversed.

Assuming, without deciding, that the negligent hiring claim was preempted by the FAAAA, the Supreme Court held that negligent-hiring claims against transportation brokers fall within the FAAAA’s safety exception.  The Court explained that common-law duties and standards of care are a traditional means by which states regulate safety.  Construing the FAAAA’s safety exception, the Court concluded that its language preserving state regulatory authority “with respect to motor vehicles” applied to claims that “‘concern[]’ or ‘regard[]’ the vehicles used in transportation.” Applying that construction, it concluded that the negligent hiring claim fell within the FAAAA’s safety exception, saving it from preemption.

Clarice Spicker is a partner in the firm’s Trucking & Transportation Defense Trial Group. She focuses her practice in all areas of transportation defense including wrongful death and personal injury, premises liability, and products liability defense, and is a member of the firm’s Rapid Response Team.

cspicker@jshfirm.com | 602.263.4495 | jshfirm.com/cspicker

Elizabeth B. N. Garcia focuses her practice in federal and state appellate matters. Liz joined JSH after gaining experience at a multi-state firm where she handled class action defense and other complex litigation. In addition to her class action experience, Liz handled breach of contract and other sophisticated commercial litigation for clients across industries. After law school, she worked for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Appeals and was named the 2017 Emerging Star for the Solicitor General’s Office.

egarcia@jshfirm.com | 602.263.4486 | jshfirm.com/egarcia