Surface Transportation Practice: Motor Carriers

Surface Transportation

Surface Transportation
Practice Areas

Bus Industry
Motor Carriers
Other Transportation Issues
Railroads
Surface Transportation Litigation

Motor Carriers

Antitrust
Cargo Loss and Damage Claims
Employment Status of
Owner-Operators
Government Contracts
Hazardous Materials
Transportation
Intermediaries

Legislation
Mergers and Acquisitions
Private Carriers
Safety Regulations
Tax Litigation
Vehicle Size and Weight
Requirements

Antitrust

Attorneys in our firm have defended numerous motor carriers in criminal actions brought by the Department of Justice, have litigated private antitrust suits on behalf of transportation entities, and obtained business review letters from the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. In addition, we have advised carriers, shipper groups, rate bureaus, freight forwarders and brokers on the antitrust consequences of a wide range of proposed activities, including mergers and acquisitions and revenue pool arrangements. We have also instituted antitrust compliance programs for a variety of transportation entities and handled the antitrust aspects of acquisitions.

Cargo Loss and Damage Claims

Our firm represents motor carriers in loss and damage claim litigation in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. We also advise shippers, carriers and freight intermediaries on cargo liability insurance, claims litigation, setoffs and other issues involving cargo loss and damage.

Employment Status of Owner-Operators

Our attorneys represent carriers in proceedings before the IRS regarding the employment status of owner-operator truck drivers leased to motor carriers. We have successfully appealed IRS assessment determinations, and have advised motor carriers on how to restructure their relationships with owner-operators to avoid future liability.

Government Contracts

Attorneys in our firm have represented a number of motor carriers in bid-rigging, ratemaking and debarment proceedings involving government contracts for transportation, and have advised carriers and freight intermediaries on contracting requirements and payment procedures for government traffic, as well as handling government contract disputes before the General Accounting Office and Court of Federal Claims. We are also advising clients on several issues related to impending changes in procurement of government transportation services and have discussed those issues with federal officials.

Hazardous Materials Transportation

The firm has represented clients before Congress and DOT regarding proposals for registration and taxation of shippers and carriers of hazardous materials, routing and prior notification restrictions on truck and rail shipments of hazardous materials. We have also defended clients in hazmat enforcement proceedings and prepared training programs for hazardous materials employees.

Intermediaries

We represent a number of brokers, freight forwarders and other intermediaries on a variety of issues involving regulatory requirements, contract and tariff terms, liability for payment of freight charges, and loss and damage claims.

Legislation

Our firm has played a major role in efforts in Congress and state legislatures to eliminate unnecessary regulation of motor carrier rates, routes and services. Attorneys in the firm helped to draft federal legislation concerning the economic deregulation of interstate and intrastate motor carrier operations, as well as a number of provisions on taxation and safety regulation of trucking, that have been enacted into law. For example, the firm was instrumental in drafting and successfully lobbying for enactment of 49 U.S.C. § 14505, a provision limiting the ability of states to tax interstate motor carrier passenger transportation. That provision superceded a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc., 514 U.S. 175 (1995). The firm's attorneys have frequent contact with members of Congress and their staffs.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Our firm has acted as counsel in three of the largest motor carrier mergers and in the two largest rail carrier mergers in history. We have made pre-merger filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and obtained federal and state regulatory approvals for acquisitions when required. We also provide antitrust advice regarding proposed mergers and acquisitions.

Private Carriers

The firm is the principal outside counsel to the National Private Truck Council, the national trade association representing over 1,000 corporations that operate private truck fleets. In addition to serving NPTC as lead counsel in a litigation campaign challenging the validity of certain state motor carrier taxes, we developed a comprehensive regulatory manual for NPTC member companies on the federal and state regulatory requirements applicable to private carriage operations. The firm also advises private fleets on the procedures to obtain supplemental for-hire operating authority.

Safety Regulations

Attorneys in our firm have developed programs for carrier compliance with the federal motor carrier safety regulations, including driver qualifications, record keeping, insurance, vehicle inspections and accident reporting. We have also prepared comments on proposed safety rules and prepared testimony for public hearings on rulemakings, and have drafted federal legislation that was enacted to require the Department of Transportation to establish a program to exempt light duty vehicles from the federal safety requirements. In addition, one of our attorneys served as a member of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory Review Panel, a group that advised the Federal Highway Administration on uniformity of state motor carrier safety requirements.

Tax Litigation

Over the last several years, the firm has been lead counsel in over a dozen lawsuits, primarily class actions on behalf of thousands of motor carriers, which have successfully challenged the validity of state taxes and fees imposed on interstate transportation under federal constitutional and statutory principles. The decisions in these cases have created important precedents and have awarded refunds of over $30 million in unconstitutional taxes to carriers. The firm also advises clients on the legality of proposed and existing motor carrier taxes, and recently negotiated an agreement with a state taxing agency to settle the franchise tax liability of interstate motor carriers.

Vehicle Size and Weight Requirements

Attorneys in our firm successfully defended the truck weight regulations of the State of South Dakota against a suit by the Federal Highway Administration which contended that the rules violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 by allowing heavier trucks than the FHWA rules permitted. We also advise motor carriers on state and federal requirements for longer and wider vehicles and tandem trailers, and represent carriers in enforcement proceedings involving vehicle dimensions.