A growing number of voices from the freight transportation field are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hold that federal law preempts state-law negligence claims against freight brokers.

The issue is the core of a case called Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC. And according to logistics experts, it has significant implications for wholesalers and distributors that hire motor carriers or rely on freight brokers to move goods across state lines.

Specifically, the Supreme Court will soon decide whether the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA), 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c), preempts state negligent-hiring claims against brokers for selecting motor carriers. The outcome will determine whether wholesalers and distributors operate under uniform national transportation standards or face a patchwork of state tort rules.

According to The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), a patchwork of rules would increase costs and legal uncertainty. So the group recently filed a brief to the court stating that opinion. NAW warns that allowing negligent-hiring claims to proceed would expose brokers to unpredictable liability, prompting narrower carrier selection and higher insurance and litigation costs—costs that would ultimately be borne by wholesalers, distributors, and consumers without improving safety outcomes.

“Trucking is a key mode of transportation for America’s wholesaler-distributors,” Brian Wild, Chief Government Relations Officer at NAW, said in a release. “Subjecting brokers to state-by-state negligence lawsuits for performing that core service would reduce carrier options, would raise freight costs, and make it harder for distributors to serve customers efficiently and competitively.”

Likewise, C.H. Robinson filed a similar brief last week in the case, saying that it looks forward to presenting its oral argument before the Supreme Court on March 4. “For nearly a century, federal law has provided one clear set of rules for how freight moves across the country. That clarity matters for safety and for the economy,” said Dorothy Capers, Chief Legal Officer, C.H. Robinson. “Our brief asks the Court to reaffirm that framework so responsibilities remain where they belong—and goods keep moving reliably for families and businesses nationwide.”

And third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) also submitted a brief, arguing that state-level liability conflicts with federal transportation policy, and that expanding liability would force market consolidation, raise shipping costs, harm small businesses, and disrupt supply chain efficiency without improving safety.