We assist participants throughout the transportation and logistics industry, including:

• Motor carriers and trucking companies;

• Small, medium-sized, and large trucking fleets;

• Dispatch and fleet-management operations;

• Freight and load brokers;

• Third-party logistics providers;

• Logistics and transportation-management companies;

• Freight forwarders;

• Owner-operators and incorporated drivers;

• Employed and contracted drivers;

• Equipment lessors and lenders;

• Shippers, consignors, consignees, and receivers;

• Warehousing and distribution businesses;

• Fleet owners and equipment operators;

• Courier and commercial-delivery companies;

• Importers and exporters;

• Manufacturers, retailers, and commercial customers;

• Insurance brokers and transportation insurers; and

• Directors, officers, and shareholders of transportation businesses.

Our transportation practice includes:

• Equipment-financing lawsuits arising from defaults;

• Enforcement of equipment leases, guarantees, and security agreements;

• PPSA enforcement and repossession proceedings;

• Repair and storage lien disputes;

• Insurance-coverage disputes and claims;

• Cargo loss, damage, shortage, and subrogation claims;

• Commercial automobile liability claims;

• Physical-damage and non-owned trailer disputes;

• Unpaid freight invoices;

• Freight-broker payment and chargeback disputes;

• Delay, detention, and frustration claims;

• Late, rejected, contaminated, or spoiled shipment claims;

• Claims for unpaid driver wages or owner-operator settlements;

• Carrier, broker, shipper, and owner-operator agreements;

• CVOR and commercial vehicle regulatory matters;

• Highway Traffic Act charges and enforcement matters;

• Vehicle detention and impoundment; and

• Urgent court proceedings affecting vehicles, cargo, receivables, or business operations.

Transportation disputes can escalate quickly. A detained vehicle, withheld payment, rejected shipment, or denied insurance claim may immediately affect deliveries, customer relationships, and cash flow.

We can respond when:

• A tractor, trailer, or other critical unit has been impounded or detained;

• Essential equipment is subject to a repair or storage lien;

• A broker refuses payment based on alleged cargo damage, shortage, or late delivery;

• An insurer denies coverage for a significant cargo, collision, or physical-damage loss;

• A customer or consignee refuses to release cargo or demands a price reduction after delivery;

• A factoring company delivers a demand, redirects receivables, or prevents direct payment;

• Drivers or owner-operators cease work because of unpaid or disputed settlements;

• A lender seeks to repossess financed equipment;

• A shipment is rejected, delayed, contaminated, or spoiled; or

• Immediate court intervention is required to protect equipment, cargo, receivables, or ongoing operations.

In these situations, we act promptly to preserve evidence, assess the governing contracts and insurance policies, stabilize operations, protect the client’s legal position, and pursue the fastest commercially viable resolution.

Commercial vehicle operators are subject to detailed safety, licensing, inspection, and record-keeping requirements. Violations may affect a carrier’s Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration record, operating status, insurance costs, and ability to continue operating.

We can assist with matters involving:

• CVOR applications, compliance, and operating requirements;

• CVOR safety ratings, including Excellent, Satisfactory, Satisfactory-Unaudited, Conditional, and Unsatisfactory ratings;

• CVOR points, intervention levels, and carrier profiles;

• Ministry of Transportation audits and facility audits;

• Responses to adverse audit findings;

• Warning letters and proposed sanctions;

• Notices of suspension or cancellation;

• Show Cause Hearings before the Deputy Registrar;

• CVOR suspension and revocation proceedings;

• Plate seizure and vehicle-registration consequences;

• Successor-company and change-of-control issues;

• Concerns involving related corporations, family-owned carriers, and multiple operating entities;

• The effect of corporate reorganizations on CVOR and safety records;

• National Safety Code and interprovincial operating requirements; and

• Regulatory issues arising when a carrier operates in Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, or the United States.

Commercial drivers and operators may both face consequences arising from highway inspections and charges. A conviction can result in fines, CVOR points, insurance consequences, contractual penalties, and increased regulatory scrutiny.

We can advise and represent clients in relation to:

• Commercial vehicle inspection charges;

• Driver and carrier charges under the Highway Traffic Act;

• Overweight and axle-weight offences;

• Load-security and cargo-securement charges;

• Hours-of-service violations;

• Electronic log and record-keeping allegations;

• Daily inspection and trip-inspection violations;

• Defective vehicle and mechanical-fitness charges;

• Annual inspection and safety-standard issues;

• Speed-limiter offences;

• Suspended-driver allegations;

• Driver-licensing and vehicle-ownership issues;

• Licence-plate and registration offences;

• Hazardous-material placarding allegations;

• Charges arising from lights, brakes, tires, straps, or other equipment failures;

• Strict-liability and absolute-liability offences;

• Due-diligence defences;

• Errors or deficiencies appearing on offence notices;

• Disclosure and officer-note issues;

• Plea negotiations involving multiple charges;

• Provincial Offences Act trials and appeals; and

• The effect of convictions on the driver’s record and the carrier’s CVOR.

A commercial vehicle impoundment can disrupt deliveries, interrupt customer relationships, and expose a carrier to towing, storage, recovery, and replacement-vehicle expenses.

We can assist with:

• Commercial vehicle detention and impoundment;

• Challenges to vehicle impoundments;

• Tractor and trailer impoundment issues;

• Plate seizures;

• Vehicle-release procedures;

• Towing and storage disputes;

• Financial losses arising from detention or impoundment;

• Operational restrictions imposed by enforcement authorities;

• Determining responsibility for towing and cleanup expenses; and

• Urgent advice intended to reduce business interruption.

The bill of lading is a central document in the transportation of goods. It may establish the terms of carriage, identify the contracting parties, record the condition and quantity of the cargo, and affect liability for loss or damage.

We can assist with:

• Preparing and reviewing bills of lading;

• Identifying the carrier, shipper, consignee, and intermediary;

• Incorporating contractual terms into shipping documents;

• Declared-value provisions;

• Limitations of liability;

• Notice and claim-filing requirements;

• Signature and acceptance issues;

• Bills of lading involving brokers or subcontracted carriers;

• Cross-border shipping documentation;

• Missing, incomplete, or inaccurate bills of lading;

• Conflicts between bills of lading, rate confirmations, tariffs, and transportation agreements; and

• Disputes over which contractual document governs the shipment.

Cargo claims frequently raise questions concerning responsibility, applicable liability limits, timely notice, mitigation, insurance coverage, and the condition of the shipment at pickup and delivery.

We can assist carriers, brokers, shippers, and insurers with:

• Lost, stolen, damaged, contaminated, or destroyed cargo;

• Cargo shortages and delivery discrepancies;

• Delayed-delivery claims;

• Perishable and temperature-sensitive freight;

• Refrigerated and controlled-temperature loads;

• Improper loading, securement, or packaging allegations;

• Sealed-trailer disputes;

• Inspection and proof-of-delivery issues;

• Determining whether the carrier, broker, shipper, receiver, or subcontractor is responsible;

• Statutory and contractual limitations of liability;

• Application of per-pound liability limits;

• Declared-value and excess-value claims;

• Notice requirements and limitation periods;

• Salvage and mitigation obligations;

• Restrictions on the resale of damaged goods;

• Claims involving consequential or business losses;

• Subrogated insurance claims;

• Assignments of claims between shippers, brokers, and insurers;

• Cross-border cargo claims;

• Multimodal shipments involving truck, rail, marine, or air transportation; and

• Negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation of cargo disputes.

Transportation contracts often allocate substantial risk through indemnity clauses, insurance requirements, service standards, chargeback provisions, limitation clauses, and dispute-resolution terms.

We can prepare, review, and negotiate:

• Shipper-carrier agreements;

• Shipper-broker agreements;

• Broker-carrier agreements;

• Freight-forwarding agreements;

• Transportation-services agreements;

• Logistics-management agreements;

• Dedicated-carriage agreements;

• Rate confirmations and load tenders;

• Warehouse and distribution agreements;

• Equipment-use agreements;

• Subcontracting arrangements;

• Confidentiality agreements;

• Non-solicitation and non-circumvention provisions;

• Customer-protection clauses;

• Choice-of-law and jurisdiction clauses;

• Mediation, arbitration, and litigation provisions;

• Indemnity and hold-harmless clauses;

• Insurance and additional-insured requirements;

• Cargo-liability and limitation provisions;

• Service-level requirements;

• Non-compliance, chargeback, and performance-fee provisions;

• Detention, waiting-time, layover, and demurrage provisions;

• Lumper-fee provisions;

• Fuel-surcharge provisions;

• Force-majeure and weather-delay provisions;

• Cross-docking and cargo-handling terms;

• Claims-handling procedures; and

• Termination and renewal provisions.

The legal responsibilities of a freight broker may differ significantly from those of a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or subcontracting carrier. The substance of the transaction, rather than simply the name used by the business, may determine the party’s obligations and exposure.

We can assist with:

• Establishing and operating freight brokerages;

• Distinguishing brokers, carriers, freight forwarders, and logistics providers;

• Broker-carrier and shipper-broker contracts;

• Broker licensing, registration, and bonding issues;

• United States broker-bond requirements;

• Trust-account and handling-of-funds issues;

• Broker insurance and contingent cargo coverage;

• Double-brokering allegations;

• Unauthorized re-brokering and subcontracting;

• Carrier qualification and onboarding procedures;

• Fraudulent carriers and identity theft;

• Payment disputes between shippers, brokers, and carriers;

• Broker liability for cargo loss or damage;

• Claims involving unpaid carriers after the shipper has paid the broker;

• Claims against consignees or receivers;

• Personal liability allegations against directors or employees;

• Misrepresentation and negligent-selection claims; and

• Recovery from insolvent or defaulting brokers.

Unpaid freight accounts can involve several potentially responsible parties and may be governed by the bill of lading, contract, tariff, statute, or common law.

We can assist with:

• Demand letters for unpaid freight;

• Claims against brokers, shippers, consignees, and receivers;

• Determining responsibility under prepaid, collect, or third-party billing arrangements;

• Double-payment and double-liability disputes;

• Freight liens and possessory rights over cargo;

• Refusal-to-release and cargo-hold disputes;

• Limitation periods for freight accounts;

• Contractual interest and collection-cost provisions;

• Recovery of detention, layover, storage, and accessorial charges;

• Enforcement of judgments;

• Garnishment and seizure proceedings;

• Settlement negotiations and payment arrangements;

• Insolvency-related freight claims; and

• Small Claims Court and Superior Court proceedings.

Equipment financing is central to the operation of many transportation businesses. A payment default, unauthorized disposition, or competing claim against financed equipment may require immediate enforcement.

We can assist equipment lessors, lenders, carriers, and guarantors with:

• Equipment lease and financing defaults;

• Enforcement of lease and loan agreements;

• Enforcement of personal and corporate guarantees;

• PPSA security interests and registrations;

• Priority disputes involving secured creditors;

• Demands for payment and notices of default;

• Notices of intention to enforce security;

• Repossession of tractors, trailers, and other commercial equipment;

• Court proceedings for the recovery of financed equipment;

• Interim preservation and non-removal orders;

• Injunctions preventing the sale, transfer, concealment, or movement of equipment;

• Claims involving unauthorized sales or transfers;

• Bailiff and enforcement proceedings;

• Deficiency claims following the sale of repossessed equipment;

• Repair and storage liens affecting secured equipment;

• Negotiated payment arrangements and forbearance agreements;

• Insolvency and bankruptcy issues affecting financed equipment; and

• Litigation concerning competing claims to vehicles and equipment.

Repair and storage liens can prevent a carrier, owner, lender, or lessor from recovering essential equipment. These disputes may involve questions concerning authorization, invoicing, possession, notice, lien validity, and priority.

We can assist with:

• Repair and Storage Liens Act claims;

• Disputes concerning whether repairs were authorized;

• Challenges to repair or storage charges;

• Disputes involving daily storage rates;

• Applications for the return or release of vehicles;

• Security-payment and lien-discharge procedures;

• Bailiff seizures and enforcement;

• Notice requirements;

• Priority disputes between lien claimants and secured lenders;

• Claims involving inflated, inaccurate, or backdated invoices;

• Disputes over work orders and repair documentation;

• Claims involving damaged vehicles or equipment;

• Recovery of losses caused by wrongful detention;

• Negotiated releases of critical equipment; and

• Urgent court proceedings where continued detention threatens business operations.

Transportation businesses frequently use factoring arrangements to maintain cash flow. Disputes may arise when customers receive conflicting payment directions, receivables are redirected, or a factoring company asserts rights over an account.

We can assist with:

• Factoring agreements;

• Assignments of receivables;

• Notices of assignment;

• Conflicting payment directions;

• Disputes concerning direct payment to carriers or brokers;

• Demands made against shippers and customers;

• Reserve and holdback disputes;

• Chargebacks and recourse obligations;

• Priority disputes involving accounts receivable;

• PPSA registrations against receivables;

• Claims involving misdirected payments;

• Termination of factoring arrangements;

• Reconciliation of purchased accounts;

• Recovery of improperly withheld funds; and

• Litigation involving factors, carriers, brokers, and customers.

Improperly structured driver relationships may result in employment, tax, workers’ compensation, human-rights, and termination liabilities. Incorporation alone does not necessarily establish that a driver is an independent contractor.

We can assist with:

• Owner-operator agreements;

• Independent-contractor driver agreements;

• Agreements with incorporated drivers;

• Driver-service and fleet-management agreements;

• Lease-operator arrangements;

• Employee-versus-contractor classification;

• Dependent-contractor issues;

• Compensation and deduction provisions;

• Fuel, repair, maintenance, and insurance responsibilities;

• Chargebacks and damage deductions;

• Escrow and reserve accounts;

• Training-cost and repayment provisions;

• Probationary arrangements;

• Equipment ownership and control;

• Dispatch and route-control provisions;

• Exclusivity and non-solicitation clauses;

• Driver-monitoring systems and privacy concerns;

• Termination provisions;

• Customer-imposed driver qualifications; and

• Converting or restructuring existing driver relationships.

Disputes over driver wages and owner-operator settlements can interrupt operations and expose a transportation business to statutory, contractual, and litigation risks.

We can assist with:

• Unpaid wage claims;

• Unpaid owner-operator settlements;

• Disputed mileage and load payments;

• Waiting-time, layover, and detention compensation;

• Vacation pay and public-holiday claims;

• Overtime disputes;

• Unauthorized deduction claims;

• Fuel, insurance, repair, and equipment deductions;

• Cargo-damage chargebacks;

• Escrow and reserve-account disputes;

• Final settlement calculations;

• Employment standards complaints;

• Contractual claims by incorporated drivers;

• Work stoppages arising from payment disputes;

• Recovery of advances or overpayments; and

• Negotiated resolutions intended to restore or orderly conclude the working relationship.

Trucking businesses may fall under provincial or federal labour jurisdiction depending on the nature of their operations. This affects minimum employment standards, hours of work, termination rights, and available legal remedies.

We can advise on:

• Whether provincial or federal employment legislation applies;

• Canada Labour Code compliance;

• Employment standards requirements;

• Employment contracts and workplace policies;

• Hours of work and overtime;

• Vacation pay and public-holiday obligations;

• Payroll deductions;

• Driver discipline and performance management;

• Termination with or without cause;

• Statutory and common-law termination entitlements;

• Unjust-dismissal complaints;

• Human-rights accommodation;

• Disability and return-to-work issues;

• Workplace harassment and sexual-harassment investigations;

• Employee, independent-contractor, and dependent-contractor classifications;

• Confidentiality and protection of customer information; and

• Departing employees who solicit clients or take customer lists.

Transportation businesses often require several forms of insurance, including automobile, cargo, commercial general liability, warehouse, and contingent coverage. The availability of coverage may depend on the wording of the policy and the role performed by the insured.

We can assist with:

• Reviewing transportation insurance requirements;

• Commercial fleet and automobile policies;

• Motor-truck cargo insurance;

• Commercial general liability coverage;

• Contingent cargo and broker coverage;

• Warehouse legal-liability insurance;

• Trailer-interchange coverage;

• Errors-and-omissions coverage;

• Cross-border insurance requirements;

• Coverage denials and reservation-of-rights letters;

• Cargo deductibles and contractual allocation of risk;

• Additional-insured requirements;

• Subrogation claims;

• Assignment-of-claim issues;

• Insurance implications of subcontracting;

• Accident-benefit issues involving drivers;

• Autonomous and emerging vehicle technologies; and

• Coordination between commercial insurance and other applicable coverage.

Canadian carriers and brokers operating in the United States may be exposed to different rules governing operating authority, cargo liability, brokerage, bills of lading, safety compliance, and freight collection.

We can assist with:

• Canadian and United States operating-authority issues;

• Cross-border carrier and broker agreements;

• Determining which jurisdiction’s law applies;

• United States bills of lading;

• Cargo claims governed by United States law;

• Carmack Amendment issues;

• Broker licensing and bonding;

• Canadian brokers operating in the United States;

• Subcontracting and re-brokering restrictions;

• Cabotage restrictions;

• Electronic logging-device requirements;

• Hazardous and perishable freight requirements;

• Independent-contractor classification;

• Lumper-fee and accessorial-charge disputes;

• Freight liens and cargo-hold rights;

• Recovery of unpaid freight charges;

• Claims against brokers, shippers, and consignees;

• Cross-border insurance provisions; and

• Enforcement of contractual rights across jurisdictions.

Failure to comply with customs and advance-reporting requirements may result in administrative penalties, shipment delays, and increased scrutiny.

We can advise on:

• Advance Commercial Information requirements;

• eManifest compliance;

• Carrier-code and cargo-control requirements;

• Cargo Control Numbers;

• In-bond shipments;

• Customs Self Assessment requirements;

• Reporting goods entering or transiting through Canada;

• United States goods moving through Canada;

• Non-reporting and late-reporting penalties;

• Administrative Monetary Penalty System assessments;

• Correction of customs-reporting errors;

• Appeals and requests for review; and

• Contractual responsibility for customs delays and penalties.

Transportation of dangerous goods may engage federal and provincial safety, reporting, placarding, and emergency-response requirements.

We can assist with:

• Transportation of dangerous goods compliance;

• Classification and documentation requirements;

• Placarding and labelling issues;

• Driver-training requirements;

• Dangerous-goods charges;

• Spill-response obligations;

• Highway cleanup and remediation expenses;

• Allocation of cleanup costs;

• Claims involving shippers, carriers, insurers, and public authorities;

• Contractual indemnities for hazardous cargo; and

• Regulatory proceedings arising from transportation incidents.

Shipments involving more than one mode of transportation may be governed by different contracts, liability regimes, and limitation provisions at different stages of carriage.

We can advise on:

• Warehousing and storage agreements;

• Warehouse liens and cargo-hold rights;

• Warehouseman liability;

• Rail transportation agreements;

• Detention and demurrage charges;

• Marine and air components of a shipment;

• Through bills of lading;

• Intermodal and multimodal transportation;

• Identifying where cargo loss or damage occurred;

• Determining which carrier or intermediary is liable;

• Jurisdiction and applicable-law disputes; and

• Contractual coordination among carriers, brokers, warehouses, railways, and marine or air carriers.

When a commercial resolution cannot be reached, we can assist clients in pursuing or defending transportation-related claims.

Our litigation services may include:

• Demand letters and early dispute assessment;

• Settlement negotiations;

• Mediation and arbitration;

• Small Claims Court proceedings;

• Superior Court proceedings;

• Cargo-loss and damage claims;

• Unpaid freight claims;

• Breach-of-contract proceedings;

• Negligence and misrepresentation claims;

• Insurance disputes;

• Injunctions and urgent relief;

• Director and officer liability claims;

• Enforcement of judgments;

• Appeals; and

• Advice concerning the appropriate jurisdiction, parties, remedies, and limitation periods.

Legal assistance is often most effective before a charge, claim, or payment dispute occurs. We can help transportation businesses review their contracts, driver arrangements, insurance requirements, documentation, and internal procedures to identify risk and strengthen their legal position.

This may include:

• Reviewing existing transportation contracts;

• Preparing standard customer and carrier agreements;

• Developing bills of lading and rate-confirmation templates;

• Establishing cargo-claim procedures;

• Improving carrier and broker onboarding;

• Reviewing owner-operator classification;

• Developing record-retention and compliance procedures;

• Preparing responses for inspections and regulatory audits;

• Reviewing insurance and indemnity requirements; and

• Providing ongoing advice as operational issues arise.