JMS Trucking Companies Withholding Money Due to Truckers Class Action

JMS Trucking, Inc. and JMS Transportation Co., Inc. are a carrier and broker, respectively, in the business of transportation. But the complaint alleges that it has broken its operating agreements with its truckers by not paying them all the amounts due to them and by not allowing them to see the documents that might reveal these amounts.

The class for this action is all persons who entered into an independent contractor relationship with either or both of the JMS defendants for the provision of driving services.

The plaintiffs in this class action all had either an Independent Contractor’s Operating Agreement with JMS Trucking, Inc. or a Carrier Broker Agreement (CBA) with JMS Transportation Co., Inc. The complaint calls both of these leases which are governed by federal regulations.

During the time the plaintiff truckers drove for the JMS companies, the complaint claims they had “dedicated routes,” that is, they “focused on hauling fright for a primary JMS customer on the same route on a predictable schedule.” These trips involved hauling loads of freight to a location and then returning empty. The return trips were “empty miles” or “deadhead” miles.

The truckers were supposed to receive a fixed percentage of the amount the customer paid to JMS for the load plus the full amount of the surcharge the customer paid to JMS for fuel expenses. JMS billed the customers and received their payments, including for fuel surcharges.

The complaint alleges that JMS has invoiced customers and received their payments for reimbursement of fuel expenses, for both the loaded and the empty trips. However, the complaint alleges, JMS has been telling the truckers that it has received fuel reimbursements for the loaded miles only and passing on to them only that one-way amount, withholding roughly 50% of the fuel reimbursements they were due.

The complaint alleges that, under the agreements with the trucker plaintiffs, the JMS companies were obliged to disclose the documentation for their trips, but have refused to do so.

When the truckers have tried to exercise their rights to see the documentation, the complaint alleges that JMS has retaliated against them, “by, among other methods, exercising their discretion to provide less lucrative routes to those drivers in bad faith and, moreover, lodging retaliatory complaints to regulatory authorities designed to jeopardize such drivers’ ability to continue to drive loads for the JMS Defendants or any other entity.”

According to the complaint, JMS has withheld other funds, such as “detention time” for when they are delayed, misrepresenting the gross amounts of which drivers receive a percentage, and refusing to return amounts held on file at the end of their relationship with the truckers.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Contract
Tags: Breach of Contract, Fraud, Unjust Enrichment