I want to start with something most brokers will not say out loud.
There was a Supreme Court case decided on May 14, 2026 — Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC — that changed the economics of this entire industry overnight. I heard about it first when it was heading toward the court in late 2025. My old boss brought it to my attention. It was a genuinely big deal, and everyone in the industry was watching it closely because the implications ran in two very different directions depending on how it landed.
If the court ruled one way, brokers were essentially bulletproof — true legal middlemen with federal preemption protecting them from negligent carrier selection claims. If it went the other way, it meant higher overhead, higher insurance costs, and the kind of carrier vetting standards that frankly should have been standard practice all along.
It went the other way. Nine to zero. No dissent.
What the Ruling Actually Said
Shawn Montgomery lost his leg when a commercial truck operated by Caribe Transport veered off course on an Illinois highway. The load had been arranged by C.H. Robinson — one of the largest freight brokers in the country. Montgomery's attorneys argued that C.H. Robinson negligently hired Caribe Transport despite the carrier having a documented conditional safety rating from the FMCSA, with cited deficiencies in driver qualification, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, and crash history.
For years, brokers had a legal defense called FAAAA preemption that let them argue federal law blocked exactly these kinds of lawsuits. The Supreme Court removed that defense entirely.
What this means in plain language: brokers who cut corners on carrier vetting can now be held personally liable when those carriers cause accidents. The legal shield is gone.
Want to understand exactly what a conditional safety rating is and why it matters? Read our full breakdown: What Is a Conditional Safety Rating — And Why Your Broker Should Care
What This Means for Your Quote
When you get a quote from Approved Auto Transport you will notice something most brokers do not do — we show you the broker fee and the carrier cost as two separate line items. You always know exactly where every dollar goes.
That transparency is not just a preference. It reflects how we think about this industry and our role in it. After May 14, 2026, it also reflects the legal reality every broker in the country now operates under.
A broker who dispatches on price alone — who posts a load to the cheapest carrier without verifying their safety record, insurance status, driver licensing, and compliance history — is not just cutting corners. They are now carrying real personal legal exposure for every mile that carrier drives with your vehicle on it.
Our Carrier Vetting Checklist
For the full breakdown of what we check before your carrier is dispatched — read:
What We Check Before Your Carrier Is Dispatched — Every Single Time →Why Doing This Right Costs More
The short version: proper vetting costs money.
Insurance verification software, BASIC score monitoring, driver qualification file review, distracted driving history checks — none of this is free and none of it is fast. Brokers who built their margins on thirty-second load postings with a two-minute authority check are now operating in a world where that process carries legal exposure they cannot avoid.
Add to that the direct insurance cost impact. Few freight brokers carry the excess liability coverage that would handle a catastrophic negligent-hiring verdict. With that legal exposure now real and unavoidable, broker insurance premiums are rising. That cost flows somewhere. It flows into the quote.
Read the full cost breakdown: Why I Am Almost Never the Cheapest Auto Transport Quote — And Why That Is by Design
What Has Not Changed
I built Approved Auto Transport on the premise that transparency is not a marketing strategy — it is an operating principle.
Montgomery did not change how I operate. It confirmed that how I operate was right.
The industry is catching up.
If you want to understand exactly what our carrier vetting process includes before you book — ask us. We will walk you through every step, every check, every time.
That is The Shipping Remedy.
Approved Transport Group LLC — USDOT# 9677802 | MC# 45556873 | Licensed Property Broker | Grasonville, Maryland