On January 15, 2019, the United States Supreme Court ruled in New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira that an interstate trucking company cannot force independent contractor drivers to arbitration based on arbitration clauses in independent contractor agreements. The case involved drivers who entered into agreements which required them to settle disputes with
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California Vehicle Code Section 35551 places restrictions on the total gross weight of a vehicle and its load. These restrictions typically fall between 34,000 to 80,000 pounds. Whether you own a trucking company or you are an owner-operator, you may be responsible
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It is standard practice in the intermodal transportation industry to lease chassis. It is also common for disputes to arise with leasing companies about their rental charges, billing practices and late fees. Chassis providers can make accounting errors which result in charging the wrong
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A properly drafted Owner Operator Agreement can literally save your business. In Performance Team Freight Systems, Inc. v. Aleman, the California Court of Appeal enforced an arbitration clause included in an Owner Operator Independent Contractor Agreement required by a trucking company that served the ports
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Pursuant to 49 USCS § 13908(b), The Unified Carrier Registration System (UCR) is an online registration system intended to streamline the FMCSA’s registration process. UCR maintains a database of all foreign and domestic motor carriers, motor private carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders required
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On May 12th, Ron Chauvel of Chauvel and Glatt will be speaking about important legal updates affecting the transportation industry at the California Trucking Association’s annual Golden Gate Fields event. For over 35 years, Ron has represented motor carriers, bus, broker, warehouse and logistic companies
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The recent Decision in Ridgeway v. Wal-Mart covers critical pay issues for California carriers. Wal-Mart paid its drivers based on mileage, activity pay and non-activity pay as defined in its Driver Pay Manuals. The drivers claimed they were not paid for various work time
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A lien on freight in your possession is invaluable when you are trying to collect past due freight or storage charges. There are 3 types of liens: common law, statutory and contractual. Pretty much all carriers and warehousemen have a common law
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Revisions to the Biennial Inspection of Terminals (BIT) program significantly expands the number of California motor carriers required to enroll in BIT. As the CHP implements the changes to the BIT program, California carriers should be aware of how these revisions may
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Many motor carriers utilize the services of independent owner operator truck drivers. As many as 6,000 such drivers are believed to operate in the Port of Oakland. Many more operate in the Southern California ports. Most owner operator drivers own their own
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