What the C.H. Robinson Lawsuit Means for Your Trucking Insurance

A family of four was killed on Christmas Eve 2022. The truck that caused the crash was operated by a carrier with a history of federal shutdowns. The load had been brokered, then secretly re-brokered, through one of the largest logistics companies in the country. And the carrier's owner admitted under oath that he didn't even know what a basic federal insurance requirement was.

That case is now before the United States Supreme Court. If you're in the trucking industry, as a carrier, broker, or shipper, it should get your attention.

What Happened

C.H. Robinson is the largest freight broker in the U.S., managing 37 million shipments annually. Their model, like all brokers, depends on vetting carriers on behalf of shippers. The shipper trusts the broker. The broker trusts the carrier. Everyone assumes the system works.

According to court documents, a carrier owner named Alexander Delgado ran a series of trucking companies that moved thousands of loads for C.H. Robinson. When the FMCSA shut each one down for safety violations, Delgado says a C.H. Robinson employee told him to open a new entity and keep working, the definition of a "chameleon carrier." Delgado also routinely double-brokered those loads to other unvetted carriers without C.H. Robinson's knowledge.

The Christmas Eve crash involved a load that had been double-brokered to a carrier Delgado didn't own. When asked about the MCS-90, the federal form proving a carrier carries legally required liability insurance, Delgado said he didn't know what it was.

The case, *Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II*, is now at the Supreme Court, where at least one Justice has suggested brokers "could do more to ensure that carriers are hiring safe drivers."

Why It Matters Beyond C.H. Robinson

Double brokering and chameleon carriers are industry-wide problems, not isolated to one broker. What makes this case significant is the question it forces the court to answer: when a broker's carrier selection leads to a catastrophic outcome, how much liability belongs to the broker?

That ruling will affect how freight is moved, how contracts are written, and how insurance needs to be structured, for everyone in the chain.

The Coverage Gaps This Case Exposes

Primary Auto Liability & MCS-90: Having a DOT number doesn't mean a carrier is adequately insured. Carriers with thin or lapsed coverage can still appear active in FMCSA records.

Contingent Cargo Insurance: If a carrier's coverage fails after a loss, brokers and shippers without contingent cargo coverage absorb that gap out of pocket.

Freight Broker Liability / E&O: If courts establish that brokers have a duty of care in carrier vetting, brokers without this coverage face exposure they may not be prepared for.

Umbrella & Excess Liability: Fatal truck crashes routinely produce multi-million dollar verdicts. Federal minimums rarely cover the real exposure.

Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA): In double-brokering situations, loads move on vehicles that weren't part of the original arrangement. HNOA coverage protects businesses when those vehicles are involved in accidents.

Questions to Bring to Your Next Coverage Review

- Is my MCS-90 properly filed and are my primary auto limits adequate?

- Do I have contingent cargo coverage, and what does it exclude?

- Does my broker liability or E&O policy cover carrier vetting failures?

- Are my umbrella limits high enough for a worst-case accident?

- Am I protected if a load I'm connected to gets double-brokered without my knowledge?

These aren't hypothetical. They're the questions that will be litigated in every case that follows this ruling.

The Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II decision is coming. Whether the court broadens broker liability or limits it, the freight industry's risk landscape is shifting. The time to review your coverage is before the verdict, not after.

Talk to Pinnacle about your freight liability exposure at www.pinnrisk.com

*Pinnacle Risk Solutions is an independent insurance agency. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or insurance advice.*