Echo Global back in court after Montgomery broker liability ruling

Can brokers be held liable when a carrier they hired causes a fatal crash?

Yes, and a South Carolina wrongful death case that Echo Global Logistics won in 2024 is now back in play. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit remanded Fuelling v. Echo Global to the lower court this week, days after the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that brokers can be sued under state negligent-hiring laws.

Angela Fuelling sued Echo Global and S&J Logistics after her husband James was killed in January 2022 when an S&J truck rear-ended his pickup on Interstate 85 in Cherokee County, South Carolina. James Fuelling had been stopped in traffic when the truck plowed into him.

Echo won summary judgment in 2024, then Montgomery changed the law

In November 2024, the federal district court in South Carolina granted Echo Global's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the company from the case. The court cited the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (F4A), which bars state laws that affect a transportation company's "price, route or service." Echo argued that a state negligent-hiring claim would interfere with its broker operations and was therefore preempted by federal law.

Angela Fuelling appealed to the Fourth Circuit. Before that court could rule, the Supreme Court decided Montgomery on May 15, 2026. The unanimous decision held that the F4A's safety exception, which permits state action "with respect to motor vehicles", includes brokers. Brokers can be held liable for negligent hiring decisions under state law.

With Montgomery now binding precedent, the Fourth Circuit sent Fuelling back to the district court for reconsideration.

The split that Montgomery resolved

Before Montgomery, federal circuit courts disagreed on whether "motor vehicles" in the F4A safety exception covered brokers. Some circuits ruled that brokers don't operate motor vehicles and therefore couldn't be sued under the exception. Others held that brokers are part of the motor-vehicle supply chain and the exception applies.

The Fuelling case was poised to become another entry in that split. Now the question is settled: brokers are subject to state negligent-hiring claims when the carrier they hired causes injury or death.

What this means for broker vetting

The remand puts Echo Global back in the lawsuit. The district court will now evaluate whether Echo was negligent in hiring S&J Logistics, whether the broker ran adequate safety checks, whether S&J had a history of violations, and whether Echo should have known the carrier posed a risk.

For brokers, Montgomery and cases like Fuelling make carrier vetting a legal requirement, not just a best practice. If you broker a load to a carrier with a poor safety record and that carrier causes a crash, you can be held liable in state court. The F4A no longer shields you.

For carriers, the takeaway is indirect but real: brokers who fail to vet properly are now exposed to lawsuits, which may push more brokers to tighten onboarding. Carriers with clean safety records and transparent operating authority should see an advantage. Carriers operating under someone else's authority or with recent out-of-service orders may find fewer brokers willing to take the risk.