Fowler White hauls in Florida victory for J.B. Hunt in complex insurance litigation trend

Attorneys from Fowler White Burnett crushed a Florida state court lawsuit that is part of an increasing insurance litigation trend to implicate large motor carriers when small motor carriers have limited commercial auto and primary coverage and do not carry excess coverage.

Bruno Renda and Helaine Goodner, shareholders at Fowler White in Miami, were among the lead attorneys for one of the defendants, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., in the Bradford Circuit Court litigation filed by the plaintiff, Michael Pelfrey.

“Plaintiffs are starting to find creative ways to rope into these lawsuits deep pocket brokers — like J.B. Hunt — even though brokers have no significant role on the actual transportation of the freight they broker out to motor carriers,” Renda said in an email. “Brokers around that state being targeted in personal injury cases like this will want to cite this ruling to get out of cases.”

Stefano Di Portigliatti, a partner at Coker Law in Jacksonville who represents Pelfrey, said in a phone call that his client intends to appeal the ruling.

The dispute was over an accident in July 2018. Pelfrey sustained an injury when a tractor-trailer operated by one of the defendants, driver John F. Lukens, rear-ended his truck, court documents show. Lukens was driving the truck for the small-licensed motor carrier, defendant Rock Island Depot Inc. J.B. Hunt arranged for the transport of United States Postal Service equipment.

In the corresponding lawsuit, in the second count of his complaint, Pelfrey alleged that J.B. Hunt was negligent in hiring and retaining Lukens and Rock Island, but soon dropped the count.

Meanwhile, In the third count, Pelfrey alleged that J.B. Hunt was vicariously liable for the negligence of the two other defendants because they were “agents, employees, servants and/or independent contractors”; and that J.B. Hunt was “acting as a motor carrier” employing Rock Island and Lukens.

But Bradford Circuit Judge George M. Wright has granted summary judgment in favor of J.B. Hunt, which resulted in the dismissal of the trucking company as a defendant from the state court action.

Renda said that small motor carriers, like Rock Island, must carry at least $750K in commercial auto coverage. Most of these Florida carriers have $1 million in primary coverage but no excess coverage. To cover the damages, when the plaintiff’s medical expenses exceeded Rock Island’s $1 million policy limits, they roped in large motor carriers like J.B. Hunt.

There are three elements necessary to establish an actual agency relationship under Florida law: First, the principal must acknowledge that the agent will act for him; second, the agent must accept the undertaking; third, the principal must exercise control over the actions of the agent.

Wright wrote in the order that Florida law is settled that for an actual agency relationship, control must extend to the means and manner of performing the work and not merely the right to secure the end results.

And, Wright stated that whether an independent contractor relationship exists requires consideration of the “totality of the circumstance — both the contract between the parties, if any, and the actual practice of the parties.”

As far as the second claim, in which J.B. Hunt was acting as a motor carrier, Wright noted that, per the outsource carriage agreement with Rock Island, J.B. Hunt did not have a right to control the means and manner by which Rock Island performed its services as a motor carrier and that Rock Island was an independent contractor.

Finally, J.B. Hunt acted as a broker and not a motor carrier under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act and found that the “broker vs. motor carrier” analysis, usually applicable in cargo claims under the Carmack Amendment, did not apply, Wright ruled.

Renda added: “Under the law and the facts, Rock Island was the motor carrier which in turn employed Lukens and was vicariously liable for his conduct, not J.B. Hunt.”

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