U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to Roadway Express in the case of an employee terminated as part of a work force reduction in 2003. The ruling resulted from an age discrimination lawsuit filed by four terminated employees. The district court had denied Roadway’s request for summary judgment related to three of those employees. (Case No. 06-3224)
The children of a Windsor, Ont., woman struck and killed by a tractor-trailer while crossing a street in 2003 settled a lawsuit in late January against the city and the trucking
company, Martin Transportation Systems of Grand Rapids, Mich. Jacqueline Bouchard was crossing against the light, but the family’s lawyer, Greg Monforton, said the timing of the lights did not allow “safe passage across nine lanes of traffic.” After Bouchard’s death, the city built a pedestrian overpass across the busy street and widened pedestrian lanes
at the intersection.
A former driver for Paul Ray Trucking Co. pled guilty to theft of property and was sentenced to repay $5,000 that was stolen from the company. Dennis L. Wright, 56, of Murfreesboro, Ark., originally was charged along with two other drivers and an office worker. A Nov. 29 arrest report states someone in the company office authorized cash advances on
the drivers’ fuel cards for more than company policy permitted; the drivers allegedly would divide the extra pay and overages with the office employee.
Q As a carrier, we entered a contract that provided we would be responsible for the “full actual value” of a shipment lost, damaged or delayed, excluding special or consequential damages. A shipment was damaged in transit, and the shipper demanded the invoice amount. Our insurer says that replacement cost is all it is required to pay and wrote a letter to our shipper denying the claim until replacement cost information was provided. Our good customer now threatens to withhold payment and claims we lack adequate insurance.
A I will try to unpack this issue. Your contract terms “full actual value” with no “special or consequential damages” is language that tracks the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C.
