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C.H. Robinson Case Affirmed – Broker Held Liable for Trucker’s Negligence
Hard facts make hard law. This Illinois case, Sperl v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., proves the adage and may have implications beyond Illinois, for brokers and shippers. The appellate court recently affirmed a ruling holding the broker vicariously liable for a trucker’s negligence that caused an accident with fatalities and severe injuries. A jury had held C.H. Robinson (CHR) liable for over $23 Million. Why?
C.H. Robinson, a logistics company, contracted with Dragonfly Express, a motor carier, to haul freight for CHR and its customers. The contract permitted CHR to give direct instructions to the Dragonfly drivers, including pick-up and delivery times, daily check-in calls, package counts, constant communications with CHR, with “fines” for the driver for failing to meet any appointment or any other written requirement, such as constant communication. The driver, an owner-operator leased to Dragonfly, was being paid directly by CHR.
According to the court, if the driver complied with federal Hours of Service rules, she could not have met the CHR requirements. Conversely, if she complied with the federal HOS rules, she could not have met the contractual requirements and risked having her pay reduced, perhaps completely, by the system of fines. The court held that CHR exercised such control that Dragonfly and the driver became its agents, not independent contractors, and that CHR was vicariously liable for the accident. The “independent contractor” language in the written agreement was belied by the facts.
Courts in other states have rejected such a result, but none has involved the level of control by the transportation broker as described by the court. Brokers and shippers will want to take care that they do not expose themselves to vicarious liability. In the normal course, as the court agreed, a transportation broker is not responsible for the trucker’s negligence, if it meets its obligation to select a competent and duly licensed, safe motor carrier.
© June 2011, Law Offices of John C. Lane
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