Shawn Montgomery, Petitioner v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al.

Shawn Montgomery sued a freight broker after a truck crash, saying the broker negligently chose an unsafe motor carrier or driver. The Supreme Court said the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act blocks that state common-law claim and that the claim does not fit the law's safety exception.

The decision makes it harder for injured people to sue freight brokers under state negligence law after trucking crashes. For example, someone hurt in a truck wreck may now have to focus on claims against the carrier or driver instead of the broker that arranged the shipment.

Lower courts will apply this ruling in similar cases and are likely to reject state negligent-selection claims against brokers. Brokers, insurers, carriers, and injured plaintiffs will adjust their lawsuits and business practices to account for that limit.

The fight was over whether federal trucking law overrides a state negligence claim against a broker for choosing an unsafe carrier or driver.

It narrows one path for people injured in truck crashes to seek damages from freight brokers. Brokers gain stronger protection from this type of state-law claim.

Lower courts will use this ruling in similar broker-liability cases. The parties and other litigants must proceed under the Court's reading of the federal statute.