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Brokers Face New Carrier Selection Liability After Montgomery Ruling

The freight industry faces a critical shift in carrier vetting practices following the Montgomery v. Caribe Transport decision, which established that brokers can be held liable for negligent carrier selection. The ruling eliminates previous federal preemption protections that shielded brokers from lawsuits based on safety decisions. Every carrier selection decision now constitutes potential courtroom evidence. Juries will evaluate whether brokers exercised ordinary care standards. Industry stakeholders must document their vetting processes and carrier evaluation criteria to defend decisions three years forward. Public data sources provide vetting tools: SAFER offers authority status and safety ratings, SMS supplies BASIC scores and crash data, the Licensing and Insurance system tracks coverage, and the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse documents driver violations. Brokers handling high-volume operations—such as those processing 50 loads daily—must implement systematic vetting procedures rather than relying on rate and availability alone.