A lawsuit filed by owner-operators against Saturn Transportation Systems of Minnesota and its affiliate Saturn Transportation Systems L.L.C. has been certified as a class action.
Owner-operators Eric Sheinhartz, Charles Albert and Jeffery Parkinson claim that Saturn Inc. and Saturn Transportation Systems L.L.C. (a licensed property broker created by the owners of Saturn Inc. in March 1997) were skimming money from them by generating two sets of invoices, one sent to the customer and a "dummy" invoice given to them of which their percentage compensation was based upon.
The suit claims that the linehaul amount charged on the invoices given to the customers was substantially greater than the linehaul amount charged on the invoice shown to the owner-operator.
According to Saturn Inc., two invoices always exist when a transaction is brokered, and says the owner-operators were aware of the fact that brokers make their money by charging customers more for a load than the carrier charges.
However, the plaintiffs claim that Saturn's brokerage affiliate had no brokerage authority until after the lawsuit was filed, with a license not obtained until December 2000.
Sheinhartz and Albert also say they were charged more for bobtail and physical damage insurance than the actual premium paid by Saturn Inc., without proper disclosure required by federal truth-in-leasing regulations and Minnesota law. According to the plaintiffs' lawyers, approximately 400 owner-operators may have been overcharged for insurance during the period covered by the suit.
Saturn Inc. alleges that a conspiracy was formed to defame them and encourage additional owner-operators to break their agreements in revenge for being terminated by Saturn Inc. for misconduct.
The court certified a class of similarly situated owner-operators who contracted with Saturn Inc. between October 12, 1994, and October 11, 2000.
Owner-operators Eric Sheinhartz, Charles Albert and Jeffery Parkinson claim that Saturn Inc. and Saturn Transportation Systems L.L.C. (a licensed property broker created by the owners of Saturn Inc. in March 1997) were skimming money from them by generating two sets of invoices, one sent to the customer and a "dummy" invoice given to them of which their percentage compensation was based upon.
The suit claims that the linehaul amount charged on the invoices given to the customers was substantially greater than the linehaul amount charged on the invoice shown to the owner-operator.
According to Saturn Inc., two invoices always exist when a transaction is brokered, and says the owner-operators were aware of the fact that brokers make their money by charging customers more for a load than the carrier charges.
However, the plaintiffs claim that Saturn's brokerage affiliate had no brokerage authority until after the lawsuit was filed, with a license not obtained until December 2000.
Sheinhartz and Albert also say they were charged more for bobtail and physical damage insurance than the actual premium paid by Saturn Inc., without proper disclosure required by federal truth-in-leasing regulations and Minnesota law. According to the plaintiffs' lawyers, approximately 400 owner-operators may have been overcharged for insurance during the period covered by the suit.
Saturn Inc. alleges that a conspiracy was formed to defame them and encourage additional owner-operators to break their agreements in revenge for being terminated by Saturn Inc. for misconduct.
The court certified a class of similarly situated owner-operators who contracted with Saturn Inc. between October 12, 1994, and October 11, 2000.
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