Potential for Vicarious Liability Under the Graves Amendment
Over one million shipments of hazardous materials reportedly travel in U.S. commerce every single day. A common misunderstanding is the nature of hazardous materials—they are more commonplace than you think!...more
Dozens of ships anchored outside of America’s busiest ports, steadily spiking freight rates, and frustrated consumers inheriting both the paralyzing delays and the exorbitant price increases: these have been the painful...more
H.R. 3684 of the 117th Congress passed the U.S. Senate on August 10 with a vote of 69-30. This bipartisan infrastructure legislation would make historic investments without increasing taxes, authorizing $550 billion in new...more
OSHA has scheduled a meeting on June 12, 2018, in Washington, D.C., to solicit comments and suggestions from stakeholders in the trucking and railroad industries, on whistleblower issues within OSHA’s purview. 83 Fed. Reg....more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Abbyland Trucking, Inc. (“ATI”) entered into a December 21, 2017, Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”) addressing alleged violations of Section 203(a)(3)(A)...more
Twenty-five years after Congress first tried to ensure that garbage trucks aren’t also used to haul fresh produce, a federal regulation establishing sanitation standards for the transportation of human and animal food by...more
The Graves Amendment is a federal statute that has traditionally shielded commercial motor vehicle leasing companies from most claims of vicarious liability. In August 2014, however, a New York court determined that a...more
According to the most recent estimates, the quantity of goods carried by containers has risen from around 100 million metric tons in 1980 to about 1.5 billion metric tons in 2012. Out of these numbers, one container in every...more
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has a favorite saying that he attributes to one of his public school teachers: “Having no plan is a plan.” Well, now the USDOT has a plan, or, as it calls it, a...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently reached a settlement with Coach USA Inc. and City Sights LLC, breaking up their joint venture. The DOJ also employed the rarely used remedy of disgorgement to recover $7.5...more
The FDA’s proposed food safety rule, entitled “Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food,” presents significant change for all involved in the food transportation industry. In a previous issue of Setting the Table, we...more
On Oct. 7, 2014, the Association of American Railroads and two of its member rail carriers filed suit against California's Office of Spill Prevention and Response in an effort to strike down the state's recent effort to...more
Last week, beneath the fanfare surrounding issuance of internal regulations for Mexico’s new oil and gas agency[1] and a suite of conforming amendments to more than half a dozen environmental regulations, the Secretariat of...more
The saga surrounding the challenges to the Massachusetts “ABC” Test for independent contractors has taken a potentially positive turn for the transportation industry. A decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
On September 4, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued declaratory orders in response to two petitions, each seeking a jurisdictional determination under the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”)...more
Federal and state law have long established that a shipper cannot prevail in a freight claim against a carrier if an “Act of God” caused the freight damage, loss, or delay in question. This “Act of God” defense is available...more
On Wednesday, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision that, on its face, involved a technical preemption issue, but one that will have serious repercussions for those in the transportation...more
As reported in Caltrans District 11's press release, there is much good news coming out of California Transportation Commission's meeting last week. First, thanks to a new state budget that increased transportation funding...more
The Surface Transportation Act currently provides commercial drivers with recourse if they are retaliated against for refusing to violate federal motor carrier safety rules. Earlier this month, the Department of...more
Environmental and Policy Focus: U.S. officials cut estimate of recoverable Monterey Shale oil by 96% - Los Angeles Times - May 23: Federal energy authorities have slashed by 96 percent the estimated amount of...more
Policy Committees Driving Activity - While the current surface transportation authorization, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), is due to expire on September 30th, the Department of Transportation...more
Executive Summary: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed the "New York State Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act," which will have a significant impact on employers in the transportation industry by...more