Robert Cox v. Total Quality Logistics, Inc. and Total Quality Loggistics, LLC

Cincinnati, Ohio personal injury lawyer represented the Plaintiff who sued the Defendants on auto negligence wrongful death theories.



Robert Cox sued Total Quality Logistics, Inc. and Total Quality Logistics, LLC (together, "TQL”) for negligence under Ohio law. Mr. Cox alleged that TQL, in its capacity as a freight broker, negligently hired an unsafe motor carrier, resulting in a motor vehicle crash that killed his wife, Greta Cox. The district court dismissed the action on the ground that Mr. Cox's claims were preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration and Authorization Act ("FAAAA” or "the Act”), 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)



TQL is an Ohio-based freight broker.1 As a broker, TQL works with shippers to find authorized motor carriers to transport goods. In May 2019, TQL arranged for motor carrier Golden Transit, Inc. to transport a load of goods via tractor trailer from Minooka, Illinois to 1In reciting the relevant facts, we accept as true all factual allegations in Mr. Cox's complaint. See DiGeronimo Aggregates, LLC v. Zemla



Perris, California. In doing so, TQL disregarded public information, available via the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA”) website's Safety Measurement System, indicating that Golden Transit was an unsafe motor carrier with a history of "on-road safety violations and deficiencies.” R. 1, Compl., PageID 4. An "overwhelming number of [Golden Transit's] drivers [were] deemed illegal to be on the road,” and "more than 7 out of every 10 of its trucks were not allowed to legally be on the roadway.” Id. The driver of the May 2019 shipment, Amarjit Singh Khaira, was purportedly an inexperienced and unsafe driver.



On May 8, 2019, Greta Cox was driving along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma with her grandson, Brion Ragland, in the passenger seat. The two approached a construction zone where the left lane of the highway was closed, and all traffic was directed to move to the right lane at a reduced speed. Ms. Cox complied with these directives, remaining in the right lane and slowing down her vehicle. But Khaira, whose "semi-truck” was just behind Ms. Cox's vehicle, failed to slow down and, going at a rate of over sixty miles per hour, collided with Ms. Cox's vehicle.



Ms. Cox died in the collision and Ragland incurred physical injuries. Mr. Cox, in his capacity as the personal representative and special administrator of his wife's estate, joined by Ragland, sued TQL in federal court, alleging that TQL, in its capacity as a broker, was negligent in hiring Golden Transit. The complaint also alleged that TQL qualified as a motor carrier, and it lodged claims against TQL in that capacity, including negligence and violations of various federal and state regulations regarding motor carriers. The district court dismissed the complaint in full for failure to state a claim, holding that (1) the lawsuit fell within the scope of the FAAAA's preemption provision, § 14501(c)(1); and (2) the lawsuit did not fall within the Act's safety exception, § 14501(c)(2)(A).

Reversed and Remanded