Published:
Appellate Court Issues Key Rulings in OOIDA Lawsuit
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Landstar System, Inc.
(Nasdaq: LSTR) a safety-first non-asset based provider of transportation
capacity and logistics services, announced today thatthe United States Court
of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued its rulings in a pending case
involving four former Landstar Business Capacity Owners (BCOs) and the
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. ("OOIDA"). BCO is the
Landstar term used to refer to the independent owner-operator small business
owners who supply the company with the truck capacity used to haul freight
under exclusive lease arrangements.
At issue in the lawsuit are voluntary programs Landstar offers to its BCOs
to enable them to buy discounted products and services that are then
"charged-back" against the BCO's settlement compensation. Landstar believes
the key rulings of the Appellate Court are as follows:
First, the Court's analysis confirmed that Landstar's current leases with
its BCOs comply with the federal leasing regulations and rejected OOIDA's
argument that it is unlawful for Landstar to offer programs that make these
items available for purchase by BCOs for more than Landstar's third-party
costs. The Court also recognized that there is no dispute that all amounts
charged-back to Landstar BCOs for these products and services were accurate,
as the charges were in the exact amounts as disclosed in the leases.
Second, the Court overturned a lower court ruling that had found that
Landstar "literally complied" with the applicable disclosure requirements of
the federal leasing regulations. Instead, although the Court held that
Landstar was entitled to recoup its expenses in administering the programs, it
also held that even where the exact price for the product or service was
stated in the BCO's lease and verified on the BCO's settlement statement, the
BCO is entitled to access documents reflecting how the amount of each
component of a specific charge was computed.
Third, the Court affirmed the lower court ruling that decertified the
class of plaintiffs for the purposes of determining damages and ruled that in
order for an individual plaintiff to recover any amount in monetary damages in
connection with a violation, the individual plaintiff must prove "actual
damages" sustained as a result of a violation.
"Landstar is overall very pleased with this decision," according to
Michael Kneller, Landstar Vice President and General Counsel. "The Eleventh
Circuit upheld what we believe are the key elements of the District Court's
ruling, which affirmed the validity of Landstar's current lease and will
enable us to continue providing products and services that help our BCOs
successfully run their businesses. Although we respectfully disagree that
additional disclosures may be required under the federal leasing regulations
and are evaluating whether to seek clarification or any further appeal of that
portion of the decision, Landstar will fully comply with any final order
requiring additional disclosures of any kind."
Continued Kneller, "Although no assurances can be given with respect to
the outcome of the lawsuit, Landstar believes that no plaintiff has sustained
any actual damages as a result of any violation at issue in this litigation
and the plaintiffs will be unable to recover any damages or obtain any
injunctive relief following remand to the District Court that will have a
material financial effect on the Company."
The following is a "safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements contained in this press release
that are not based on historical facts are "forward-looking statements". This
press release contains forward-looking statements, such as statements which
relate to Landstar's business objectives, plans, strategies, expectations and
intentions. Terms such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates,"
"intention," "plans," "predicts," "may," "should," "will," the negative
thereof and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Such statements are by nature subject to uncertainties and risks,
including but not limited to: an increase in the frequency or severity of
accidents or workers' compensation claims; unfavorable development of existing
claims; dependence on independent sales agents; dependence on third-party
capacity providers; disruptions or failures in our computer systems; a
downturn in domestic or international economic growth or growth in the
transportation sector; substantial industry competition; and other
operational, financial or legal risks or uncertainties detailed in Landstar's
Form 10K for the 2007 fiscal year, described in Item 1A Risk Factors, and
other SEC filings from time to time. These risks and uncertainties could
cause actual results or events to differ materially from historical results or
those anticipated. Investors should not place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements, and Landstar undertakes no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements.
About Landstar:
Landstar System, Inc. delivers safe, specialized transportation and
logistics services to a broad range of customers worldwide. The Company
identifies and fulfills shippers' needs through the coordination of individual
businesses comprised of independent sales agents and third-party
transportation and logistics capacity providers. Through its operating
subsidiaries, Landstar delivers excellence in complete transportation
logistics services and solutions. All Landstar operating companies are
certified to ISO 9001:2000 quality management system standards. Landstar
System, Inc. is headquartered inJacksonville, Florida. Its common stock
trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market(R) under the symbol LSTR.
SOURCE Landstar System, Inc.
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