Ying Ye, as Representative of the Estate of Shawn Lin, Deceased v. GlobalTranz Enterprises, Inc.

The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act preempts state laws “related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier … or any motor private carrier, broker, or freight forwarder with respect to the transportation of property.” 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)(1). It also contains an exception from preemption—known as the “safety exception”— that preserves the “safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles.” Id. § 14501(c)(2)(A). The question presented is: Whether a personal injury claim against a freight broker based on the broker’s negligent hiring of an unsafe motor carrier to transport property by motor vehicle falls within the safety exception, as the Ninth Circuit has held, or whether such a claim is insufficiently connected to motor vehicles to fall within the exception, as the Seventh Circuit held below.