First there was Schramm; then there was Sperl. Both cases tapped C. H. Robinson for significant amounts.
The case mentioned that follows is known as the Dragonfly/ Sperl Decision and appeared in Transport Topics.
"The Illinois Supreme Court has denied an appeal request from C.H. Robinson Worldwide over a $23.8 million civil verdict against it, following a fatal traffic accident involving a carrier hired by the broker.
A spokesman for C.H. Robinson, North America’s largest freight broker, said last week the company would not
pursue additional appeals at the federal level.
The Illinois high court actually reached its decision in late September without explanation or comment as to why
the justices had decided to deny the company’s request, but news of the ruling is only now circulating through
freight industry circles.
The decision leaves in place an Illinois Appellate Court ruling from March that upheld the 2009 decision of a trial
court that found Robinson among those liable for a 2004 traffic accident in Will County, Ill., with two fatalities.
“We are obviously disappointed that the Illinois Supreme Court declined our petition for further review, as we
strongly believe that the Illinois Court of Appeals failed to follow well-established Illinois law regarding a party’s
responsibility for the negligence of an independent contractor with which it contracts,” said Ben Campbell, Robinson’s general counsel.
The appeals court “also improperly attempted to distinguish this case from multiple prior state and federal court
decisions in which precisely the same claim has been asserted against C.H. Robinson and summarily dismissed as a matter of law,” he added.
The case arose from an accident on Interstate 55 southwest of Chicago. Owner-operator DeAn Henry, leased to
motor carrier Toad L. Dragonfly Express, was hauling a load of potatoes owned by Robinson that was heading for
a warehouse operated by the broker. The truck was involved in a collision, killing two and injuring others.
An attorney representing the widow of one of the deceased said Robinson was held properly responsible.
“People who want to call themselves brokers can’t pull the strings behind the curtain and then say they’re not in
control,” said Timothy Cantlin, whose law firm represented the widow of one of those killed.
“When you look at the factors, Robinson was much more than just a broker. They were the dispatcher and
controlled everything until the accident occurred,” said Cantlin, adding that his client’s share of the verdict was
$8.5 million.
The three main parties named as defendants after the accident were owner-operator DeAn Henry, Dragonfly
Express — which since has closed — and Robinson, which had the deepest pockets of the three."The key and operative word in this whole proceeding was "CONTROL" which negated the defense based upon the independent contactor status established in contract.
If your insureds are not buying truck broker liability to protect themselves and their shippers, that would seem to be very poor judgement indeed. We are seeing many brokers unwilling to change their business operations to confront the necessary best practices that mitigate risk.
