More than 1,000 owner-operators who were leased to Gilbert Express will get to divvy up a $1 million settlement in the settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Assn.

OOIDA and Gilbert first announced the settlement in April, but the details could not be made public until the recent approval of the settlement by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
In October 2000, OOIDA filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against the Linden, N.J., motor carrier on behalf of individual owner-operators, alleging violation of federal truth-in-leasing regulations. The lawsuit, similar to those brought by OOIDA against other trucking companies nationwide, said Gilbert illegally forced contracted truckers to purchase and/or lease a Qualcomm satellite tracking unit from and through Gilbert, did not paid interest on escrow accounts, and forced leased owner-operators to buy insurance through Gilbert's own program.
The terms of the settlement include the payment from Gilbert Express in the sum of $1 million into a settlement fund. The settlement covers all owner-operators who leased equipment and services to Gilbert Express during the period of October 1996 through June 2001 -- approximately 1,100 drivers. Gilbert is also required under the settlement to comply with federal regulations by using the form of agreement Gilbert negotiated with OOIDA. In addition, current drivers with Gilbert Express will have their escrows guaranteed by other companies associated with Gilbert for a period of three years.
Owner-operator class members will receive settlement awards based upon their total known gross line-haul revenue during the class period as a percentage of the total known gross line-haul revenues for the entire class.
Gilbert Express sought bankruptcy protection in the summer of 2001, citing the costs and uncertainty related to the litigation as one reason for its filing.
In another of its truth-in-leasing lawsuits, OOIDA announced that it has appealed several recent decisions by a U.S. District Court in its case against New Prime Inc.
Earlier this month, a U.S. District Court Judge dismissed the claims of two plaintiffs from the case, ruling that the owner-operators’ leases with the Springfield, Mo.-based motor carrier "pre-dated" the Jan. 1, 1996, statute guaranteeing a trucker's private right of action against a carrier.
The judge then ruled that OOIDA no longer had standing to pursue the case because none of its owner-operator members were participants. The court also ruled that Prime's current lease does not violate the federal regulations. OOIDA believes the court's legal reasoning and factual analysis were faulty on both issues.