Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Shawn Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, No. 24-1192 · judgment January 3, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
The common law permits a cause of action for negligent selection. For example, a person injured in a truck crash has a cause of action against someone that negligently selected the truck driver to transport property. A federal statute expressly 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). The statute has a safety exception, providing that the statute "shall not restrict the safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles." Id. § 14501(c)(2)(A). The question presented is: Does§ 14501(c) preempt a state common-law claim against a broker for negligently selecting a motor carrier or driver?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Paul D. Clement
Clement & Murphy, PLLC
For respondent
Theodore J. Boutrous Jr.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 20 merits
(7 supporting pet./neither, 13 respondent)
Linked docket
24A846
Argument & decision
Argued March 4, 2026 — Paul D. Clement · Theodore J. Boutrous. Audio and transcript
Decided May 14, 2026. Opinion by Barrett.
Proceedings
- Jun 15 2026Judgment Issued.
- May 14 2026Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Barrett, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Kavanaugh, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Alito, J., joined.
- Mar 04 2026Argued. For petitioner: Paul D. Clement, Alexandria, Va. For respondents: Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., Los Angeles, Cal.; and Sopan Joshi, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.)
- Feb 20 2026Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
- Feb 13 2026Reply of petitioner Shawn Montgomery filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 23 2026Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
- Jan 21 2026CIRCULATED
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amici curiae of Amazon.com, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amici curiae of Interested Freight Brokers filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amici curiae of Nebraska, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of Airlines for America filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of OurBus, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Manufacturers filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Amicus brief of Tokio Marine Houston Casualty Company not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - January 23, 2026)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of Tokio Marine Houston Casualty Company filed. (Corrected) (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amici curiae of Professor Keith Hylton, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amicus curiae of Transportation Intermediaries Association, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 21 2026Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
- Jan 14 2026Brief of respondents Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al. filed.
- Jan 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. filed.
- Jan 08 2026Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
- Jan 02 2026SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
- Dec 08 2025Amici brief of Ohio, et al. not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - December 8, 2025)
- Dec 08 2025Brief amici curiae of Ohio, et al. filed. (Corrected)
- Dec 08 2025Amici brief of Truck Safety Coalition, et al. not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - December 8, 2025)
- Dec 08 2025Brief amici curiae of Truck Safety Coalition, et al. filed. (Corrected)
- Dec 08 2025Brief amicus curiae of Robert Cox filed.
- Dec 08 2025Brief amicus curiae of Preemption Scholars filed.
- Dec 05 2025Brief amicus curiae of American Truckers United filed.
- Dec 05 2025Brief amicus curiae of Gergana Franco filed.
- Dec 02 2025Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Safer Trucking filed.
- Dec 01 2025Brief of petitioner Shawn Montgomery filed.
- Dec 01 2025Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs received)
- Nov 13 2025Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including December 1, 2025. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including January 14, 2026.
- Nov 06 2025Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
- Oct 03 2025Petition GRANTED.
- Sep 10 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
- Aug 27 2025Rescheduled.
- Aug 04 2025Supplemental brief of respondents C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 23 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
- Jul 22 2025Reply of petitioner Shawn Montgomery filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 07 2025Brief of respondents C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., et al. in support filed.
- Jul 07 2025Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Manufacturers filed.
- Jun 02 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 7, 2025)
- Mar 04 2025Application (24A846) granted by Justice Barrett extending the time to file until June 2, 2025.
- Feb 27 2025Application (24A846) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from April 3, 2025 to June 2, 2025, submitted to Justice Barrett.