Truckers' lumping suit granted class action status
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. -- The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association's lawsuit against U.S. grocery giant SuperValu alleging lumping coercion has been granted class action status. According to OOIDA's Land Line website, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim granted OOIDA's request to include thousands of truckers in the class-action claim that SuperValu's proof of insurance coverage requirements in 2005 attempted to coerce drivers to use and pay for lumping services at its docks. OOIDA says SuperValu required excessive insurance coverage as a way to coerce drivers to pay for unloading services. A trial in the case is scheduled for September this year in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. The class for the case includes owners and operators of motor vehicles hauling interstate commerce who between March 28, 2005, and Dec. 22, 2005, delivered "carrier loads" to SuperValu and did not at the time of delivery have in effect the insurance then required by SuperValu as a condition to unloading their own trucks, and so paid for lumpers. "A victory in this case will benefit not only the truckers who were actually charged the unloading fees, but all truckers because of the clear signal it will send throughout the industry that these types of abuses will no longer be tolerated,” said OOIDA’s President Jim Johnston. There is also potential for the case to benefit some motor carriers because the class includes not only the truckers who were behind the wheel, but also the entities with the operating authority for those trucks.