Duane Morris – Transportation, Automotive and Logistics

July 24, 2024 by Duane Morris

FAA’s Transportation Worker Exemption Applied To Fueling Technicians To Green Light Their Class Action And Side-Step Arbitration

On July 19, 2024, in Lopez v. Aircraft Service International, Inc., Case No. 23-55015 (9th Cir. July 19, 2024), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s (FAA) transportation worker exemption applies to an airplane fueling technician. Even though the technician had no hands-on contacts with goods, the Ninth Circuit held that was not required because fuel is necessary to flying the plane that holds the goods. The decision is yet another from the Ninth Circuit broadly applying the FAA’s transportation worker exemption, in spite of multiple recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court directing narrow that loop hole to mandatory arbitration. The Lopez decision presents an obstacle for employers seeking to enforce arbitration agreements and class action waivers within the Ninth Circuit, thereby opening the door to arguments that workers who do not even handle goods in the stream of commerce are exempt from arbitration if their work somehow supports the mechanism by which the goods travel.

To read the full text of this post by Eden E. Anderson, Rebecca S. Bjork, and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., please visit the Duane Morris Class Action Defense Blog.

July 22, 2024 by Duane Morris

NHTSA and FMCSA Further Delay Potential Regulations for Automatic Emergency Braking Technologies

By Jim Steigerwald, Harry Byrne, and Ryan Monahan

The potential for rulemaking in 2024 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been deferred to 2025 at the earliest, including on key state-of-the-art technologies such as automatic emergency braking (AEB) in heavy and medium-duty trucks. The NHTSA and FMCSA intended initially to publish a final rule to require and/or standardize equipment performance for AEBs on trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds by April 2024. That has now been pushed to January 2025, at the earliest. The delay is despite the fact that the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking comment period ended nearly two years ago, in September 2023.

Bottom line: Manufacturers, fleet operators, and commercial vehicle owners have faced increasing products liability litigation in recent years for alleged negligence in “failing to equip” vehicles with AEBs. The recent deferral shows that significant rule making regarding advanced automatic technologies in heavy vehicles will remain ongoing as the government continues to study the technology and evaluate a potential mandate in heavy and medium-duty trucks. While commercial vehicle manufacturers continue to develop and innovate in this space, the NHTSA and FMCSA continue to take a hands-off approach and have still yet to mandate this technology in heavy and medium-duty trucks.

April 12, 2023 by Duane Morris

EPA Proposes Two Rules That Could Dramatically Increase EV Sales

On April 12, 2023, the EPA announced two proposed vehicle emission rules aimed to accelerate the transition to electric passenger and commercial vehicles.

The proposed standards do not require that manufacturers produce a certain number of electric vehicles, but instead set forth limits on greenhouse gas emissions that manufacturers must comply with for particular vehicle fleets. The EPA predicts such standards will result in a dramatic increase in new electric vehicle sales.

Read the full story on the Duane Morris LLP website.

April 3, 2023 by Duane Morris

Treasury Department Releases Proposed Guidance on New Clean Vehicle Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act

By Elisa Walker

On March 31, 2023, the Treasury Department and the IRS released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the new clean vehicle provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Notice will be published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2023. Comments and requests for a public hearing must be submitted by June 16, 2023.

Section 30D of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act, allows a credit of up to $7,500 on the purchase of qualified electric vehicles. To be eligible for the credit, the vehicle must be a new clean vehicle, manufactured in North American, and powered by a battery that complies with critical mineral and component sourcing specifications. The Notice provides guidance clarifying the new credit eligibility criteria.

We are currently reviewing the proposed guidance. Check back early next week for our assessment.

September 7, 2021 by Duane Morris

Insuring Commercial Drones: Liability or Opportunity?

Developments in drone technology are often heralded as having the potential to change the landscape of business operations, most prominently in the consumer goods shipping sector. Yet, the development of federal regulation and guidance on the commercial use of drones lags behind the pace of innovation. Meanwhile, litigation highlighting the common law tort risks inherent in drone operations has been percolating in jurisdictions around the country. It is no surprise, then, that users of the technology face major uncertainty in terms of their exposure to liabilities, both known and unknown.

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris attorneys Holden Benon and Matthew Decker, please visit the Insurance Journal website.

March 29, 2021April 12, 2021 by Duane Morris

Suez Canal Reopens, but Delay Damages Still an Obstacle

Shippers whose cargoes have been delayed by the grounding of the container ship Ever Given will likely face obstacles in recovering damages caused by the delay. The Ever Given, which is one of the world’s largest container ships at over 400 meters in length, ran aground on March 23, 2021, while transiting northbound in the Suez Canal, completely blocking all traffic. The 120-year-old Suez Canal is one of the world’s most transited waterways, and the consequences of the multiday disruption to ocean carrier traffic will be felt by shippers and consumers alike. To minimize the impact of delays caused by the Ever Given, some vessel operators with ships waiting to enter the canal rerouted ships around the Horn of Africa, which increases their operating costs and adds considerable time to each voyage, while other vessel operators stayed put, hoping the Ever Given would be refloated quickly.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

February 22, 2021 by Duane Morris

Walter Rand Transportation Center in New Jersey Receives $250M Redevelopment Funding

On February 17th, New Jersey Governor Murphy, Congressman Norcross, Senate President Sweeney and local and county officials announced $250 Million for the redevelopment of the Walter Rand Transportation Center (WRTC) in Camden, NJ. This will be the center’s first major renovation since opening in 1989.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.

February 3, 2021 by Duane Morris

Under the Biden Administration, the Jones Act Is Here to Stay

On January 25, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a critical executive order reaffirming his administration’s support for the U.S. maritime protectionary statute known as the Jones Act.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 by Duane Morris

Auto Industry Implications for 3D Printing

For as long as cars have existed, three fundamental truths appeared to be eternal. First, every car contains safety critical components, second these components are mostly metal and third, they are manufactured by one of two methods—stamping or cold forming. These eternal truths always led to an equally durable legal reality, that if the safety critical component fails the manufacturer will be liable to the injured party. It’s hard to think of a more trite and dependable set of principles. But these timeless precepts are about to become disrupted as the automotive industry continues to explore the innovation of 3D printing.

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris partners Sean Burke and Alex Geisler, please visit the 3DPrint.com website.

January 11, 2021January 12, 2021 by Duane Morris

NHTSA Paves the Way for Further Autonomous Vehicle Research on Public Roads

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued an interim final rule and request for comment on December 31, 2020, which establishes a program for manufacturers of domestically produced vehicles and equipment to become exempted from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for research, investigation, demonstrations or training involving nonconforming vehicles.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.