The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has won its United States District Court lawsuit against Ledar Transport Inc of Kansas City MO.
"This decision sets an important precedent for future use in our defense of truckers' rights in the court system against carriers who are conducting business with leases that do not conform to the regulations," OOIDA President Jim Johnston said.
OOIDA filed the suit in 1999 on behalf of several of its members under lease to Ledar. The suit challenged a series of alleged violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Leasing regulations in Ledar's lease with owner-operators.
US District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr's decision was in response to a motion introduced by OOIDA citing the Federal Motor Carrier Leasing regulation provisions stating that an authorized carrier may perform authorized transportation in equipment it does not own only if a lease exists and that said lease conforms to federal regulations.
According to Johnston, the court found that Ledar's lease violated more than 30 provisions of the federal truth-in-leasing regulations and that those regulations created a "flat ban" on use of leased equipment under nonconforming leases.