News / US broker lawsuit expands into ‘blacklist’ claims against major logistics firms

A largely unreported US federal lawsuit against Uber Freight, Amazon Logistics, CH Robinson, and several other major freight intermediaries is evolving into a broader dispute over brokerage transparency, platform power, and alleged “blacklisting” in the trucking industry. 

The case goes to the heart of a growing complaint among US owner-operators: that large freight brokers and digital freight platforms control access to loads, while carriers have little visibility into what shippers are actually paying. 

Originally filed by Georgia owner-operator David Worrell, operating as Daviexpress, the lawsuit accuses some of the biggest names in freight brokerage of systematically concealing freight economics from carriers while retaining undisclosed margins for themselves. 

The defendants include Uber Freight, JB Hunt, RXO, TQL, CH Robinson, Convoy/Flexport and Amazon Logistics. 

At the centre of the complaint is 49 CFR §371.3 – a little-known US brokerage regulation requiring brokers to maintain records of freight transactions and make them available to carriers on request. 

Mr Worrell alleges brokers and digital freight platforms retained hidden portions of freight payments; failed to disclose shipper rates to carriers; engaged in rebrokering and “freight topping”; and used opaque digital marketplace systems that suppressed what truckers were paid. 

While the allegations remain unproven, the issues they raise are familiar across US trucking: collapsing spot-market rates; widening broker margins; double-brokering; algorithmic pricing; and growing concentration among large freight intermediaries. 

The lawsuit effectively attempts to turn years of owner-operator frustration into a class-action challenge against the structure of modern freight brokerage itself. 

However, the case quickly ran into procedural trouble. 

The lawsuit was filed without a lawyer, even though Daviexpress was a corporation, but under US federal law, corporations cannot litigate in court without legal representation. 

The defendants also moved aggressively to dismiss the complaint, arguing that: arbitration clauses governed the disputes; federal law preempted many of the claims; no private right of action existed under the brokerage regulations cited; and the complaint failed to state a valid legal claim. 

In December, Judge Michael Brown ordered plaintiff Daviexpress to obtain counsel or face dismissal. When no lawyer appeared, the court dismissed the case without prejudice in January. 

But since then, the dispute has become more contentious. In subsequent filings, Mr Worrell alleged that after the lawsuit was filed he was effectively frozen-out of freight work by major intermediaries. 

The most detailed allegations concern CH Robinson. 

Mr Worrell claims a recorded phone call with a CH Robinson representative revealed that his new company, TDExpress, had been manually “blocked” and placed on “Pending” status by the company’s legal department because of the litigation. 

He further alleges that CH Robinson cancelled two confirmed freight contracts, causing more than $9,000 in losses. 

In later affidavits, Mr Worrell broadened the accusations, alleging an “industry-wide blacklist”, involving CH Robinson, Uber Freight, and Amazon Logistics, along with “legal blocks”, and “90-day waiting periods” that reduced his income to zero. 

The defendants strongly dispute the allegations and oppose reopening the case. However, they did not specifically deny the later claims. 

Mr Worrell’s plea to reopen the case has now been formally submitted to Judge Brown for decision. 

Even if the lawsuit ultimately fails, it reflects growing tensions in US trucking over how much visibility carriers have into freight pricing, and how much power large digital freight intermediaries now exert over access to work.