Salt Lake City Trucking and Transportation Company Representation Lawyers

Bostwick & Price, P.C. is a Salt Lake City law firm committed to representing the interest of trucking companies. Our attorneys understand the complicated nature of the trucking industry and defend trucking companies in issues related to personal injuries, workers' compensation, and contract disputes.
Our firm takes pride in our commercial and business law practice. We know that trucking companies face complex state and federal legal and regulatory issues. Our attorneys have the experience to provide defense against lawsuits, handle insurance liability issues, and protect the rights of truck drivers.
We realize that when an accident occurs involving a semi-truck, a truck accident lawsuit will generally be filed against the trucking company. Our attorneys have helped defend numerous trucking companies against lawsuits related to driver negligence.

In addition, our lawyers have significant experience handling administrative law issues that face large trucking companies. We understand that many of the regulations faced by trucking companies are contentious and can create animosity between the industry and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). We work through the Administrative Law Courts to resolve many of these issues.

Our attorneys handle a wide range of business and commercial law services for trucking companies including contract negotiation, commercial litigation, employment issues, and licensing issues.

Contact our Trucking Company Lawyers

Our lawyers provide a wide range of services for trucking companies throughout Utah, the Intermountain Region and the western United States.

If your trucking company needs a law firm with the skill, knowledge, and resources to successfully represent your current and long-term interests, please contact Bostwick & Price, P.C.

Defense to Double Payment: Contractual Waiver by the Carrier

Unfortunately, many unsophisticated carriers, and even some otherwise relatively sophisticated carriers who do not hire counsel to review their contracts, may find themselves unable to recover from a shipper when the broker does not pay the freight charges owed because they waived the right to do so by contract.

As the Court explained in Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Inc. v. Sears Roebuck & Co., supra, 513 F.3d at p. 956, carriers can waive the right to recover directly from shippers as a matter of contract:

The parties to a freight shipment generally are free to assign liability for the payment of freight charges through a contract separate from the bill of lading. Louisville & Nashville R.R. Co. v. Cent. Iron & Coal Co., 265 U.S. 59, 66-67, 44 S. Ct. 441, 68 L. Ed. 900 (1924). Such a contract may provide that "the shipper agrees absolutely to pay the charges, or . . . merely that he shall pay if the consignee does not pay . . . , or . . . that only the [consignee] shall be liable for the freight charges, or [that] both the shipper and the consignee may be made liable." Id. "It is only where the parties fail to agree or where discriminatory practices are present that the [bill of lading] default terms bind the parties." C.A.R. Transp., 213 F.3d at 479 (emphases added).

Although it is not entirely clear how such a waiver benefits a property broker, the Transportation Intermediary Association’s Model Broker-Carrier contract includes a provision (paragraph 2.D.i.) which provides that "CARRIER shall not seek payment from Shipper if Shipper can prove payment to BROKER." Thus, if the carrier is either inexperienced or not represented by competent transportation counsel, it might waive the right to collect unpaid freight charges from the shipper. 

If you or your trucking company have questions about defenses to double payment or contractual waivers by a carrier, the attorneys at the law firm of Bostwick & Price, P.C. are available to answer your questions and concerns. www.bostwickprice.com