In what seems to be a break in its long-standing opposition to arbitration, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. is supporting one of its members
in a demand for class arbitration against FFE Transportation Services Inc. The member, Levi Thornberry, filed the demand against the Dallas-based carrier for alleged violations of the truth-in-leasing regulations related to compensation, charge backs and the purchase of fuel and other goods and services.
OOIDA has long argued that clauses in lease agreements requiring arbitration of disputes were simply an attempt to avoid class-action lawsuits and has prevailed in several other cases where carriers sought to require arbitration of owner-operator claims. But last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that arbitrators have the authority to certify classes, and the American Arbitration Assn. subsequently established procedural rules for bringing class arbitrations.
OOIDA President Jim Johnston said the recommendation to pursue the FFE complaint through class wide arbitration doesn’t signal a softening of their reliance on the federal court system.
"We feel these new developments within the arbitration mechanism may now give owner-operators another alternative to seek relief for their claims against unscrupulous carriers," he said. "In fact, class wide arbitration has the potential to allow a greater number of these disputes to be addressed, more quickly and with lower costs than the court system allows."
Arbitration requires that disputes be submitted to an impartial person or persons, well versed in the subject matter of the dispute, for final and binding determination.