The Supreme Court removed the federal preemption defense freight brokers relied on for decades. Brian Dreher, Vice President of Transportation at Brown & Brown, joins Kevin Carpenter to explain what actually changed and what it means for anyone who hires a carrier.

They get into the practical stuff: why "any auto" policies have mostly given way to scheduled auto and scheduled driver policies, why verifying that the specific van and driver on your load appear on the carrier's policy is now the highest-value check a broker can run, and how to get that written onto the certificate in the first place.

Brian also explains why the bigger near-term cost is not the nuclear verdict everyone fears. It is the price of defending the suits that are now worth filing. Old cases are being pulled back into play. Reasonable care will mean something different in every state. And all of it points the same direction on premiums, which points the same direction on freight rates.

Chapters
0:00 The subject nobody wants to talk about
1:46 Why carriers cut corners on insurance
3:56 The red flag to check on every certificate
5:57 What "scheduled" actually means
7:03 Reading the COI and asking for VIN numbers
8:15 The Supreme Court ruling, explained
9:17 What counts as a nuclear verdict
11:20 Reasonable care and who carries the burden
13:15 How deep does carrier vetting have to go
14:42 Put it in writing, and the shipper's share
17:19 Old suits coming back, and the cost of defense
20:16 Why freight rates are going up
22:59 The On Air Gauntlet

A note on the case: it comes up in conversation as "Caribe versus C.H. Robinson." The full name is Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, decided May 14, 2026 in a unanimous 9-0 opinion written by Justice Barrett. The Court held that the FAAAA does not preempt state negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers, because those claims fall within the statute's safety exception.

Guest: Brian Dreher, Vice President of Transportation, Brown & Brown

On Air with AirFreight.com is hosted by Kevin Carpenter, who has spent nearly 20 years in expedited freight operations. New episodes cover the people, decisions, and pressure behind time-critical shipping.

Listen wherever you get podcasts:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-air-with-airfreight-com/id1896897939
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033v3HrCwuSWhoy0rLv3Qx

AirFreight.com moves time-critical freight by air and ground across North America. https://www.airfreight.com

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