In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, No. 24-1192 (7th Cir. January 3, 2025), the Seventh Circuit affirmed the entry of summary judgment in favor of one of the defendants. There, plaintiff filed a personal injury lawsuit after he was injured in a collision with a tractor-trailer on a state highway. He sued the driver of the truck as well as the carrier and freight broker that arranged delivery of the shipment, claiming that it was vicariously liable for negligent hiring. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the freight broker, finding that it was not vicariously liable for the negligence of the driver.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed, explaining that the driver and carrier were independent contractors of the freight broker and, as such, federal law barred the plaintiff’s negligent hiring claims against the freight broker defendant. With respect to the broker/carrier relationship, “courts applying Illinois law consistently have declined to find an agency relationship when a company hires an independent driver to deliver a load to designated persons at designated times but does not reserve the right to control the manner of delivery.” Therefore, there was no vicarious lability. As to the negligent hiring contention, the Court pointed to its earlier ruling in Ye v. GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc., 74 F.4th 453, 464-66 (7th Cir. 2023), where the Court determined that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA), 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)(1), bars state law claims against freight brokers for the negligent hiring of motor carriers and their drivers.