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SCOTUS May 14, 2026

Montgomery v. Caribe Transport: The Ruling Explained

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Barrett, that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 does not preempt state-law claims that a freight broker negligently selected an unsafe motor carrier. C.H. Robinson — the broker that tendered the Caribe Transport load — lost its preemption motion on the merits. The case can now proceed in state court.

The facts

Plaintiff Shawn Montgomery was driving on an Illinois interstate in 2019 when a Caribe Transport II tractor-trailer crossed the median and struck his car. Montgomery survived but lost his left leg below the knee. The driver had been awake for 22 of the previous 28 hours and had a documented history of HOS violations dating back two years. The carrier — Caribe Transport II, LLC — held a Conditional FMCSA safety rating and was in SMS Alert status for both Unsafe Driving and HOS Compliance at the time of selection. Crash rates approximately three times the national average. All of that data was publicly available, free, and one query away on the FMCSA SAFER website.

C.H. Robinson — one of the largest freight brokers in North America — tendered the load. Montgomery sued Robinson for negligent selection under Illinois state law. Robinson moved to dismiss on FAAAA preemption grounds. The Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed.

The reasoning

Two grounds, both unanimous.

First, the safety exception. The FAAAA explicitly carves out the safety regulatory authority of a state with respect to motor vehicles. The Court read those words plainly. A negligent- selection claim turns on the safety of the motor vehicle the broker selected — it is, in ordinary English, a claim concerning motor vehicle safety. The claim falls inside the carveout. The FAAAA does not preempt it.

Second, the "related to" inquiry. Even if the safety exception did not apply, common-law duties of ordinary care are background duties of general applicability that apply to every business in every industry. The fact that the duty happens to apply to brokers does not make it a state regulation of broker services. The FAAAA was designed to deregulate the trucking and brokerage industries economically, not to grant them immunity from the basic legal duties every business owes the public.

What changes

Before Montgomery, a broker hit with a state-court negligent-selection claim could file a motion to dismiss on FAAAA preemption grounds and had a meaningful chance of winning that motion. The case ended early. Discovery never started. The broker's carrier files were never opened.

After Montgomery, that exit ramp is gone. Brokers will defend on the merits. That means discovery — subpoenas for carrier files, vetting procedures, dispatcher-carrier communications, the safety data the broker reviewed (or didn't), and the reasoning the broker recorded (or didn't) at the point of tender.

What doesn't change

  • This is not strict liability. The standard is ordinary care.
  • The duty existed in state common law long before Montgomery. What changed is the federal preemption defense.
  • Brokers are not insurers of carrier safety. They owe a duty of reasonable care — the same duty every business owes when its decisions affect public safety.
  • Carrier liability is undisturbed. Broker liability is in addition to, not in place of, carrier liability.

Read more

Frequently asked questions

What did the Supreme Court rule in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport?▾

Unanimous 9-0 holding that the FAAAA's safety regulatory authority exception preserves state-law negligent-selection claims against freight brokers. The Court read the words 'with respect to motor vehicles' in their ordinary sense — a negligent-selection claim concerns motor vehicles because it turns on the safety of the vehicle the broker selected — and held the claim falls inside the exception. The FAAAA does not preempt it.

Does FAAAA preemption still protect freight brokers?▾

Not against state-law negligent-selection claims. The FAAAA still preempts other state-law claims related to the price, route, or service of brokerage — for example, state-law restrictions on broker-carrier contracts. But the most common and most expensive claim brokers face after a crash — negligent selection — is no longer dismissible on preemption grounds.

What is the FAAAA safety exception?▾

Section 14501(c)(2)(A) of the FAAAA preserves 'the safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles.' Before Montgomery, federal circuits were split on whether negligent-selection claims fell inside that exception. The Seventh and Eleventh Circuits said no — preemption. The Ninth Circuit said yes — preserved. Montgomery resolves the split in the Ninth Circuit's favor, nationally.

Was C.H. Robinson involved in Montgomery v. Caribe?▾

Yes. C.H. Robinson was the freight broker that tendered the load to Caribe Transport II, LLC, the motor carrier whose driver caused the crash that injured plaintiff Shawn Montgomery. Robinson moved to dismiss on FAAAA preemption, won at the district court, won at the Seventh Circuit, and lost unanimously at the Supreme Court. The case is now remanded for proceedings on the merits in state court.

What should brokers do after Montgomery?▾

Three operational changes this quarter: (1) write a carrier-selection policy if you don't have one, (2) implement a screening system that produces a timestamped, tamper-evident record for every load, (3) require carrier safety attestations on every tender that needs them under your policy. The defense is documentation at the moment of tender, not legal innovation after the fact.

Does Montgomery create strict liability for brokers?▾

No. The Court did not create a new cause of action; it allowed an existing one to proceed. Brokers still have the ordinary-care defense — if you can show you took the steps a reasonable broker would have taken before tender, and recorded them contemporaneously, you win on the merits. The broker who documented the diligence file walks. The broker who never looked at the data does not.

Document your diligence on every load.

DOTScreener runs the checks in this article automatically and produces a timestamped, hash-chained record at the moment of tender.

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