By Rose Peña
The Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9-0 decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II. The case involved a negligent-hiring claim against freight broker C.H. Robinson after a 2017 crash involving a motor carrier they selected for a load. The Court ruled that the claim could move forward under the safety exception in federal law.
That does not mean the broker automatically loses the lawsuit. It means federal law does not automatically block this type of claim when the issue involves motor vehicle safety. The Court explained that requiring a broker to use ordinary care when selecting a carrier “concerns” the trucks used to transport goods.
The case: Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II — decided May 14, 2026
The vote: Unanimous, 9-0
What it means: State negligence claims against freight brokers for hiring unsafe carriers are not automatically blocked by federal law. The safety exception applies.
What it doesn’t mean: Brokers don’t automatically lose — it means the lawsuit can proceed. Liability still has to be proven in court.
Why This Matters to Carriers
Brokers have always had the ability to be selective about who they book. This ruling gives them another reason to document that selection process carefully and review carrier safety records before assigning freight.
Freight is already tight. Carriers are competing harder for every load. A high-risk FMCSA profile — open violations, high out-of-service rates, unresolved BASIC trends, or repeated maintenance issues — can become one more reason a broker hesitates.
“The standards for vetting carriers have shifted. They aren’t optional, they’re existential. Beyond the financial risk, it’s just the right thing to do.”
— Arpan Podduturi, VP of Product, Samsara, via FreightWaves (May 19, 2026)
A carrier that understands its own record is in a better position to explain what happened, what was corrected, and what systems are now in place. That story matters — to brokers, to shippers, and at renewal.
What Brokers Are Now More Likely to Review
When a broker is vetting a carrier, they can pull your public FMCSA profile in minutes. After this ruling, carriers should expect brokers to pay closer attention to:
- Safety rating — Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory
- Out-of-service rates for vehicles and drivers compared to national averages
- BASIC trends — particularly Unsafe Driving, Vehicle Maintenance, and HOS Compliance
- Crash history — frequency and severity of reported crashes (preventability determinations are only visible to the carrier when logged in, not to the public)
- Whether operating authority and insurance filings are current and active
- Patterns over time, not just a single snapshot
High out-of-service rates don’t tell the full story on their own — but they raise questions. Unresolved issues stand out. Brokers now have more legal incentive to document why they chose a carrier, which means they also have more incentive to not choose one that looks like a liability.
What You Can Do Now
You don’t need to wait for renewal to know what your FMCSA profile looks like. The best time to review it is three to six months after renewal — while there’s still time to correct issues, document improvements, and build a stronger renewal story.
We created the Renewal Strategist Roadmap to help carriers understand what to review before the next policy term is already urgent. It walks through what underwriters look at, what brokers see, and where to focus your attention.
The Takeaway
The Montgomery ruling is directed at freight broker liability — but carriers should pay close attention. Broker selection is now more carefully documented, which means carrier safety records carry more weight in freight relationships, not just in insurance.
At BTP, we review safety profiles as part of the renewal process because the same issues that affect your insurance can also affect your ability to get loaded. If you want to know what your profile looks like and what it’s saying to the market, reach out.
Want to know what your safety profile is saying?
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