Seventh Circuit Affirms That FAAAA Preempts Broker Negligent Hiring Claims

• Published date: 20 July 2023
• Law Firm: Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
• Author: Mr Todd A. Gray, Julie E. Maurer and Joseph McGuire

Pittsburgh, Pa. (July 18, 2023) - Today, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on the circuit split over whether freight broker tort claims are preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act ("FAAAA"), 40 U.S.C. ' 14501(c)(1), by holding that the plain text and the statutory scheme of the FAAAA bars a plaintiff's state law negligent hiring claim against a freight broker and that the Act's safety exception does not save such claims from preemption. This is excellent news for freight brokers currently defending themselves from common law state tort claims. Such brokers with pending dispositive motions should seek to add this new authority as a supplement and brokers, outside of the Ninth Circuit, whose dispositive motions have previously been denied should consider filing a motion for reconsideration.

In Ying Ye v. GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc., 7 Cir. No. 22-1805, ECF Doc. No. 43 (July 18, 2023), a freight broker was contracted to provide transportation logistics services for a company seeking to...