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Jan 16, 2017

Swift Transportation Co. * USA: Truckers are not independent drivers

* DC - Federal Judge rules Swift misclassified truck drivers as independent contractors


--- A federal judge ruled against Swift Transportation Co. determining that five drivers classified as independent contractors should have been considered employees of the giant carrier... The plaintiffs claimed in the case that due to the misclassification Swift failed to pay them all the wages required by federal and state wage and hour laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act... The drivers considered themselves to be employees because Swift controlled every aspect of their work schedules – from where and how the plaintiffs delivered freight to which routes the truckers had to use... Swift also controlled the equipment the truckers used, including the maintenance and condition of the trucks, the lawsuit said... Senior U.S. District Court Judge, John W. Sedwick, ruled on Jan. 5 that the contractor agreements the drivers signed were employment contracts, making them employees... Upon hire, the plaintiffs were forced to sign employment and lease contracts before going to work for the Phoenix, Ariz.-based trucking giant... Swift employs more than 16,000 drivers and is the largest common carrier in the U.S. ... Swift did not respond to a request for comment about the case... 
(Photo: Flickr - Kenworth Studio Sleeper, 53' Swift Transportation) -- Washington, DC, USA - Trucks.com, by CLARISSA HAWES - JAN 11, 2017

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Aug 22, 2015

LAWSUIT AGAINST TRUCKMAKER VOLVO * USA: Suit argues burned truck's OEMs should've known about alleged defects, risks

* Pennsylvania - Manufacturers dispute claims in Kane Is Able truck fire lawsuit
-- A little over one year after purchasing seven new Volvo compressed natural gas tractors, Kane filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania... 

Kane's alleged cause

Kane Is Able claims a group of compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered Volvo VNL tractors it purchased last year are defective and unsafe, leading one of them to catch on fire and explode back in January. With the cause of the fire still unresolved, Kane has sued Volvo and the trucks' engine and fuel system makers...

"Found no support"


 Volvo Trucks tells: "After extensive investigation, we were unable to identify any defect in the design, materials, or manufacturing in any of the components installed by Volvo. Our testing found no support for the cause of the fire suggested by Kane... "

Further allegations

Kane's and the OEMs' positions illustrate a clear difference of opinion — and an impasse. Kane  contends the fire was due to no user or maintenance fault, and states it refuses to operate any of the remaining six CNG Volvos "until the cause of the fire ha[s] been identified and/or until Volvo certifie[s] that the problem ha[s] been addressed and the vehicles could be operated safely" ... "To date, Volvo has failed to satisfactorily warrant the safety of these remaining tractors," the lawsuit asserts... The lawsuit also alleges activities by Cummins Westport technicians that it contends may warrant punitive damages. "Cummins [Westport] technicians at the request of Volvo and/or Agility entered Kane's premises and tested and/or altered sensors in the exhaust system of the remaining CNG units," the lawsuit states... Later, the suit again references this technician visit, providing further detail and claiming at least part of the purpose was to spoliate — i.e., despoil — evidence. Technicians "entered Kane's premises and recalibrated, tested, altered and/or modified sensors found in the undamaged CNG trucks"... In its statement, Volvo Trucks makes a contrary recommendation: "Safety is a core value for Volvo, and we worked closely with our supplier partners to thoroughly examine the vehicles Kane decided to park — this investigation convinced us that the vehicles should be returned to service," the company states...
(Image)  --  Scranton, PENN, USA - Fleet Owner, by Aaron Marsh - Aug 20, 2015

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Mar 31, 2015

LAWSUIT AGAINST TRUCKMAKER * Switzerland / USA / China - Liebherr accusing workers, Chinese companies of copying mining truck

* Switzerland / USA - Lawsuit claims former workers stole truck secrets and gave them to Chinese companies for copycat production.
-- A large manufacturing company is accusing several former workers at its Newport News (Virginia/USA) production plant, of stealing thousands of design documents used to make huge mining trucks — then turning the information over for copycat truck production in China... In a case heading for a jury trial this summer, Liebherr Mining & Construction Equipment is suing six former employees: Richard Hudson, Larry Gollady, Marc Viau, Billy M. Lewis, Allen W. Cunningham and Francis Bartley, alleging they conspired against the company... Liebherr is also suing a Detroit engineering firm, the Michigan-based — Detroit Heavy Truck Engineering, or "DHTE" — as are two officials, founder Liangyu "Mike" Huang, and vice president, Shenger "Ted" Ying, accusing it of serving as a conduit to Chinese companies, and two Chinese manufacturing partnerships, accusing them of imitating a Liebherr diesel truck with a 400-ton payload... All six workers — as well as the Detroit firms and the Chinese companies — have denied the allegations against them, saying they were not involved in a conspiracy to copy Liebherr trucks. One of the sued workers, the case's original defendant, died about a year ago... The complaint accuses some of the former workers of stealing documents by downloading files from their computers to thumb drives and USB devices, and says that one worker walked around the Newport News factory taking pictures of its layout and tools for use by a Chinese firm... The Liebherr mining trucks — built at a Newport News manufacturing plant on Chestnut Avenue, off Interstate 664 — stand 29 feet tall and have a carrying capacity of 400 tons, with tires taller than a grown man. That compares to a normal dump truck that stands 10 feet tall and has a 40-ton payload... The case, with the complaint first filed in late 2010, is being heard in Newport News Circuit Court before Judge Timothy S. Fisher, with a jury trial set for July. Numerous defendants and lawyers are involved, with court filings taking up two large boxes... Parties in China have been served with the Newport News complaint by way of the Hague Convention, an international agreement that includes rules on serving court documents overseas... The complaint asks for $40 million in compensatory damages, though it asks that that be tripled — to $120 million — under state rules on conspiracy. It also asks for $350,000 in punitive damages against each defendant... The suit alleges the conspiracy began in early 2010, when "Elite" wanted to get into the large mining truck business. Only five other companies in the world — including Liebherr — were involved in such production... They wanted to get into the business sooner rather than later, the complaint said, given the downturn in the economy and their thinking that customers around the world might want lower-priced alternatives to the high-end trucks...
(Photo: A heavy duty truck by Liebherr Mining Equipment) - Newport News, VA, USA -The Daily Press / Newport News - 28 March 2015

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Oct 21, 2014

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA: Lawsuit

* Texas - Trucking company seeks compensation for collision

Jefferson County,TXS,USA -The Southeast Texas' Legal Journal -October 21, 2014: -- A trucking company seeks compensation from the driver whom it alleges rear-ended one of its drivers... Poly Trucking filed a lawsuit Sept. 2 in Jefferson County District Court against Mark William Calvin, The Transportation Firm and Michael Hills Jr. Technology and Industry... In its complaint, Poly Trucking alleges one of its drivers, a man identified as Mr. Ontiveros, was driving east on Interstate Highway 10 in Jefferson County on Nov. 22, 2012, when Calvin and Hills struck his vehicle from behind... Because of the collision, Poly Trucking was forced to pay Ontiveros for his injuries and incurred repair costs due to the damage caused to the tractor trailer, according to the complaint... Poly Trucking blames Calvin and Hills for causing the collision, saying they failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to keep a reasonable speed, failed to stay alert, failed to properly control the vehicle, failed to take proper evasive action, failed to timely apply his brakes and failed to keep a proper distance... In its complaint, Poly Trucking seeks economic damages, plus pre- and post-judgment interest at the legal rate, costs and other relief the court deems just...

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Jul 24, 2014

OFFICIAL WHISTLEBLOWERS ? * USA

* Kansas - OOIDA praising truckers’ lawsuit over driver safety records 

Grain Valley,KS,USA -Truckinginfo -July 23, 2014: -- Six members of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a class-action suit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week under the Federal Privacy Act charging that the agency is unlawfully disseminating reports of driver safety records to potential employers... According to the complaint filed in federal court in Boston, Mass., FMCSA is only allowed to report “serious driver-related violations” under its Pre-Employment Screening Program... However, the suit claims the agency is releasing reports that go far beyond its statutory authority... A PSP record includes a commercial vehicle driver’s five-year crash and three-year inspection history with FMCSA’s Management Information System... The lawsuit claims that the reports sent out by FMCSA harm the plaintiffs’ earning potential and the ability to the get hired in truck driving jobs...

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Mar 27, 2007

Lawsuit * USA - Ford worker took millions in kickbacks, officials say

Milwaukee,WIS,USA - The Morning Journal (Lorain,OH) -24 Mar 2007: -- Federal prosecutors have forced a retired Ford Motor Co. manager, who at one time worked at the Lorain Assembly Plant, to hand over nearly $660,000... Prosecutors said John K. Perry amassed the money in they called a kickback scheme with trucking companies that generated millions over several years... No criminal charges have been filed against Perry, former manager of material planning and logistics at Ford's assembly plant in St. Louis, but a civil lawsuit U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic filed this week in Milwaukee federal court says authorities seized about $660,000 Perry had in a brokerage account...

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