Top Transportation Rulings: Midyear 2026 Report

Transportation attorney Jameson Rice was quoted in a Law360 article reviewing the most significant transportation-related court rulings of the first half of 2026. The U.S. Supreme Court delivered two landmark decisions: one clarifying that freight brokers can face state-based negligence lawsuits under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) safety exception, and another that last-mile delivery drivers who do not cross state lines can still qualify for the Federal Arbitration Act's (FAA) Section 1 exemption from arbitration. The FAAAA ruling resolved long-standing uncertainty about broker liability by allowing negligent hiring claims to proceed against freight brokers while raising new questions about how brokers should vet motor carriers to limit litigation risk. Mr. Rice commented on what the decision means specifically for brokers as well as the broader shipping sector.

"Industry has been asking for this for years: a bright-line federal standard for safety that does not rely on a fact question, and the whims of a jury, on what actions are safe enough," he said. "Broker margins on each load are often slim. Each load is another chance that something will go wrong, and a lot of expense in being involved in a lawsuit where there is no easy escape and no certainty in the result."

READ: Top Transportation Rulings: Midyear 2026 Report (Subscription required)