In an important victory for freight brokers, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a provision in the c(FAAAA) that expressly preempts state law claims related to a price, route, or service of any broker with respect to transportation preempts a negligent selection claim brought against a broker under Florida law.

In Aspen Amer. Ins. Co. v. Landstar Ranger, Inc., the court found that a claim for negligent selection of a motor carrier by the broker was related to the services of a broker with respect to transportation. But departing from a 2020 decision in the Ninth Circuit, the Eleventh Circuit panel held that although a common law negligence claim falls with the safety regulatory of a state, the claim did not fall within the FAAAA’s safety exception because the claim was not an exercise of the safety regulatory “with respect to motor vehicles,” as required by the statutory exception.

The Eleventh Circuit becomes the second U.S. Court of Appeals to have addressed this issue. Elsewhere, district courts have come to inconsistent conclusions as to whether negligent selection claims under state law relate to the broker’s service or whether the FAAAA’s safety exception applies. The earlier Ninth Circuit decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, but the Court denied review.

We will be monitoring to see if this case is appealed. Contact Scopelitis Partners Nathaniel Saylor, Greg Feary, Tom Schulte, or Prasad Sharma for more information.