In spite of lawsuit, ABF says relationship with Teamsters largely beneficial

It’s old news by now — Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp. filed suit against the Teamsters union in November.

What might surprise some is that Arkansas Best still regards its relationship with the Teamsters are largely beneficial. Arkansas Best is the parent company of ABF Freight System, a less-than-truckload carrier employing about 7,000 union drivers.

ABF took issue with certain concessions given by the Teamsters to YRC Worldwide, an Overland Park, Kan.-based less-than-truckload carrier employing about 25,000 union drivers. ABF filed its lawsuit asking for $750 million in damages that it suffered due to the alleged competitive advantage YRC was given in the marketplace due to the concessions. The complaint was dismissed in December by U.S. District Court Susan Webber Wright (Eastern District of Arkansas) for want of jurisdiction. Full Story.....

Fuel Surcharge Lawsuit Runs out of Gas

Shippers drop class action suit for lack of evidence

A group of 11 shippers dropped their class action lawsuit alleging the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers conspired to fix fuel surcharge prices.

The lawsuit, filed in July 2007 by Farm Water Technological Services, further claimed that the carriers -- which included FedEx Freight, UPS Freight, ABF Freight System, Con-way Freight, and Old Dominion Freight Line -- recouped “much more” than their fuel cost increases and that the fuel surcharges became profit centers for the carriers.

A federal court in Georgia dismissed the case for lack of evidence in January. The plaintiffs had until March 16 to amend their complaint, which they dropped.
“They gave up,” said an attorney representing one of the carriers. “The judge’s order made it clear that to file a complaint that would justify the case moving forward, the plaintiffs needed actual facts that would lead a reasonable person to conclude some conspiracy existed. Clearly the plaintiffs had no such facts.”

In his decision, Judge William S. Duffey of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concluded the plaintiffs’ allegations “do not show enough facts for the Court to find that agreement (among the carriers) was plausible. What the allegations show instead is that all LTL service providers had the same incentives to charge the same shipping rates, and that over time they eventually each did so."

YRC sues former president of one of its carriers

YRC Worldwide Inc. has sued a former president of one of its carriers, seeking damages for allegedly using company secrets after joining a rival trucker.

The federal suit in Kansas City, Kan., was filed late last month against Robert G. Zimmerman of R+L Carriers Inc. According to the suit, Zimmerman was president from June 2005 to April 2007 of USF Holland Inc., YRC’s biggest regional carrier.

As YRC has cut costs, consolidated operations and reduced staff, several reports have surfaced of rival carriers contacting YRC customers in hopes of getting them to switch their business. This is the first known lawsuit YRC has filed locally against a high-ranking former executive alleging confidential information has been disclosed to a rival company.

The following account is based on Overland Park-based YRC’s lawsuit:

Zimmerman signed a separation agreement with YRC and Holland that provided separation pay and benefits in excess of $75,000. In consideration for the payment, the pact also stated that Zimmerman agreed he would “not, directly or indirectly, use for any purpose, or disclose to any person or entity, any confidential information.”

Late last year, Zimmerman was hired at R+L Carriers, based in Wilmington, Ohio, in a position “nearly identical” to the one he held at USF Holland, according to the suit. Around that same time, several YRC employees left and joined Zimmerman at R+L. They included former vice president of sales Ken Sustarsic and ex-director of sales Tom Doan.

In late December, Doan allegedly e-mailed a spreadsheet to R+L’s sales staff with confidential information on nearly 3,000 YRC customers, encouraging the staff to solicit their business.

In January, YRC sued Doan and Sustarsic in an Ohio court and won a temporary restraining order that they cease using the confidential information and cease contacting YRC customers.

Although he was notified of the lawsuit and court order, “Zimmerman has failed to take any measures to protect against the direct or indirect use or disclosure of YRCW’s confidential information.”

YRC contends Zimmerman has breached the separation agreement and is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

Zimmerman could not be reached last week at R+L’s headquarters. A YRC spokeswoman said the company did not comment on ongoing litigation.

FedEx Agrees to Pay $26.8 Million to Settle Drivers Lawsuit

FedEx Corp. has agreed to pay $26.8 million to settle a California lawsuit over whether some drivers were independent contractors or employees.

The agreement, presented in a hearing Friday, requires court approval.

In 2007, the California Appeals Court affirmed a 2004 district court ruling that about 200 drivers who operated in the state six to 10 years ago were employees and therefore entitled to business-expense reimbursement.