Trucking

Cases

• Defeated conditional certification of an FLSA and state law putative collective action in federal court in Virginia for an international shipping company.
• Won a motion to impose sanctions on opposing counsel for a major transportation company after an opt-in plaintiff disobeyed court orders.
• Defeated certification of two putative classes of almost 30,000 California claimants alleging that WTO's client was a joint employer and liable for a number of California wage and hour law violations as well as for benefits.
• Defeated certification of a putative class of California claimants alleging WTO's client was a joint employer, seeking compensation for purported "off-the-clock" work. The California state trial court judge agreed with WTO's arguments that the plaintiff's "common" evidence did not show joint employment under California law.
• Won motion to strike California Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") representative claim in federal court for alleged meal break violations where WTO's client was a purported joint employer.
• Successfully negotiated a nuisance value settlement in a putative class action for overtime wages in federal court in Illinois, before WTO's client had to incur any substantial fees or costs in discovery or for significant briefing.
• Served as lead trial counsel to a leading Las Vegas transportation company for the defense of high-stakes motor vehicle accidents.
• Serve as national coordinating counsel to a major transportation company in FLSA collective action and individual and class wage and hour claims.
• Served as regional trial counsel to a leading national shipping company for high-stakes trucking litigation.
• Served as appellate monitoring counsel to a national food distributor in a tractor-trailer accident trial in South Carolina.
• Represented an international shipping and package delivery company in numerous arbitrations involving independent contractor classification.
• Won a complete defense verdict in a jury trial for an automotive manufacturer on claims challenging major aspects of the business operation.
• Represented U-Haul as local counsel in a wrongful death case involving the alleged rollaway and transmission defect in a U-Haul designed delivery truck.
• Won a defense verdict in federal court in Spokane, Washington, for Easterday Farms in a $12 million personal injury case involving an explosive collision between two tractor-trailers.
• Defended a trucking company against negligence claims arising from a nine-vehicle accident on a snowy Nebraska interstate highway.
• Represented a large transportation company for several years in its dissolution with a former business partner, and in contract disputes and negotiations with local contracting authorities.
• Defended a major motorcoach manufacturer in a multiple-fatality rollover crash litigation involving extensive document production.
• Successfully settled three separate independent contractor classification matters in Colorado, including a certified class action and a mass action involving 83 plaintiffs.
• Represented a national shipping company in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Montana involving two of its contract drivers who allegedly struck and killed a firefighter directing traffic in a snowstorm. After more than two years of challenging litigation, WTO was called in four weeks before trial and obtained a favorable settlement.
• Represent General Electric as national counsel in personal injury matters involving trucks that move oversized loads, including wind turbines.
• Represent or represented manufacturing companies, including PepsiCo, and retail companies, including Pizza Hut, Furniture Row, and Bimbo Bakeries, as trial counsel in personal injury matters involving delivery vehicles.
• Representing Chiquita Brands in a high-exposure trucking liability matter in Massachusetts.
• Representing a trucking company in a $34 million trial in New Mexico.
• Defended various trucking manufacturers including Freightliner, PACCAR, and Volvo Trucks in product liability litigation and catastrophic torts claims.
• Represent automotive companies, including Ford and Toyota, as trial counsel in wrongful death and product liability matters involving crashes, rollovers, and other motor vehicle accidents.