Court dismisses OOIDA lawsuit on cross-border trucking

“Our hope had been the court would still rule on the merits of arguments and evidence showing the pilot program was in direct violation of U.S. laws and regulations,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said.

The Trucker News Services

4/20/2009

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association against the Department of Transportation in connection with the Cross Border Demonstration Project.

The court ruled the lawsuit was moot because Congress recently ended the program.

OOIDA immediately expressed disappointment with the ruling, but the association said it had faith that Congress will continue to place a high priority on the safety and well-being of the American public.

OOIDA contends the trucking pilot program had extended illegal, de facto exemptions to safety laws while allowing Mexico-based trucking companies and truck drivers to operate on highways throughout the United States.

“Our hope had been the court would still rule on the merits of arguments and evidence showing the pilot program was in direct violation of U.S. laws and regulations,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said. “However, we are confident that Congress will continue to put the American public’s safety and well-being above the economic interests of multi-national corporations. Republicans and Democrats alike have voted during the last couple of years to uphold those values and they should continue to do so.”

In late March, OOIDA had asked for the court to rule on arguments related to the long-standing legal challenge to ensure that the DOT would not rely on flawed data from the terminated pilot program to evaluate or develop a new program. In response to OOIDA’s arguments, the Department of Justice submitted a brief to the court on April 2 stating that such action by the DOT could be contested in a challenge to a new program.

In its response, the Justice Department also pointed out that the DOT is currently prohibited from establishing a new pilot program and it is permitted to “. . . grant authority for cross-border long-haul operations only after completion of a successful pilot program and satisfaction of other procedural and substantive requirements.”

The Trucker staff may be reached to comment at editor@thetrucker.com.