The United States Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that freight brokers may be held liable in state courts for the negligent selection of trucking carriers.

美國最高法院一致裁定，貨運代理若在選擇貨車承運商時存在疏忽，可能會在州法院被追究法律責任。

The judicial determination centers on a lawsuit initiated by Shawn Montgomery, who sustained significant injuries during a 2017 vehicular collision in Illinois. The plaintiff alleges that C.H. Robinson, the nation's primary freight broker, failed to exercise due diligence by contracting a carrier with a documented history of safety violations. The litigation had previously been dismissed by a Chicago-based appeals court, which favored the broker's position that federal regulatory primacy precluded state-level negligence claims.

此次司法裁定聚焦於由 Shawn Montgomery 提起的一項訴訟，他在 2017 年於伊利諾州發生車禍時受重傷。原告指稱，全美最大的貨運代理 C.H. Robinson 未盡盡職調查之責，簽約對象為一家有安全違規紀錄的承運商。該訴訟此前被芝加哥的一家上訴法院駁回，當時法院支持代理商的觀點，認為聯邦法規優先，排除了州級的疏忽索賠。

Institutional opposition to the suit was substantial, with the Trump administration and corporate entities, including Amazon, contending that the imposition of a fragmented array of state laws would create an undue administrative burden. Conversely, over two dozen states supported the plaintiff, asserting that such liability is essential for enhancing highway safety. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, authoring the opinion, determined that federal transportation law contains a specific safety exception, thereby permitting the negligent-hiring claim to proceed.

機構對該訴訟的反對聲音相當強烈，川普政府及包括亞馬遜在內的企業實體主張，實施碎片化的州法律將造成不必要的行政負擔。相反地，超過二十個州支持原告，認為此類責任對於提升公路安全至關重要。撰寫意見書的法官 Amy Coney Barrett 判定，聯邦交通法包含特定的安全豁免條款，因此允許該疏忽聘用之指控繼續進行。

This legal development occurs amidst systemic concerns regarding 'chameleon carriers'—entities that reconstitute under new identities to circumvent federal safety sanctions. Data analysis indicates that these reconstituted firms are four times more likely to be involved in severe accidents than stable operators. Furthermore, reports suggest a discrepancy between the 31% increase in trucking firms since 2015 and a 10% reduction in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's workforce, potentially exacerbating regulatory lapses.

此次法律進展發生在各界對「變色龍承運商」系統性擔憂的背景下——即透過更換身份重新組建以規避聯邦安全制裁的實體。數據分析顯示，這些重新組建的公司發生嚴重事故的可能性是穩定營運者的四倍。此外，報告指出，自 2015 年以來貨運公司增加了 31%，而聯邦汽車承運人安全管理局 (FMCSA) 的員工則減少了 10%，這可能加劇了監管漏洞。

The ruling allows the litigation against C.H. Robinson to continue and may increase the legal and insurance obligations for logistics intermediaries.

此裁定允許針對 C.H. Robinson 的訴訟繼續進行，並可能增加物流中介的法律與保險義務。