Last week the Eleventh Circuit held that the FAAAA preempted state law negligence claims against a transportation broker arising from a stolen shipment.
In Aspen American Insurance Company v. Landstar Ranger, Inc., a shipper hired a transportation broker to arrange for a motor carrier to transport a load of cargo. The broker turned the shipment over to a thief posing as one of the authorized carriers in the broker’s network, who then absconded with the cargo. The insurer for the shipper sued the broker for negligence under Florida law.
The Eleventh Circuit held that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) preempted the claim.
The FAAAA bars state-law claims “relating to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier . . . , broker or freight forwarder with respect to the transportation of property.” Relying on Morales, in which the Supreme Court analyzed similar preemption language in the Airline Deregulation Act, the Eleventh Circuit rejected the insurer’s argument that the FAAAA only preempts state laws specifically targeting the motor carrier industry, as opposed to laws of general applicability like Florida’s negligence cause of action.
The Eleventh Circuit also held that the insurer’s claim did not fall within the “safety exception” to the FAAAA, which provides that the preemption clause in the FAAAA “shall not restrict the safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles.” The Court explained that the safety exception only applies “to state laws that have a direct relationship to motor vehicles,” and that a negligence claim against a broker for delivering cargo to an imposter does not directly relate to motor vehicles.
https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202210740.pdf