Washington,
D. C., October 26, 2005 - The Cullen Law Firm
announces the filing of a class action law suit in
the U. S. District Court in Ocala, Florida charging
that small business truckers are being denied proper
compensation for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The
complaint, filed on behalf of the Owner-Operator Independent
Drivers Association, Inc. and three small business
trucking firms, alleges that Lipsey Mountain Spring
Water of Norcross, Georgia, contracted with the State
of Florida to receive between $1,600.00 and $2,000.00
dollars per day for holding trucks loaded with bottled
water and ice on 24 hours per day standby. Now
that the emergency is over, Lipsey and its freight
broker are offering to pay only $600.00 per day to
the small business truckers who actually did the work. "The
State of Florida agreed to pay premium compensation
for emergency relief work, but only a small part
of the compensation is actually going to the trucking
concerns that actually did the work," said
Paul D. Cullen, Sr., counsel for the plaintiffs. The
complaint alleges that the small business truckers
should be treated as third party beneficiaries under
Lipsey's contract with the State of
Florida bypassing middlemen who are attempting to
keep all of the profits for themselves.
4
Points Logistics, LLC, a transportation broker located
in Leesburg, Florida, has also been named as a defendant. The
complaint alleges that 4 Points promised to pay the
trucking firms $60.00 per hour for each hour of "Detention,"
but then reneged after the emergency was over. 4
Points is now trying to limit the hourly payments
to only 10 hours per day. Plaintiffs seek damages
against 4 Points for breach of contract.
"The
ability of state and federal relief agencies to attract
drivers for future emergencies could be seriously
jeopardized if middlemen are allowed to retain compensation
designed to attract drivers for this hardship kind
of duty," said Mr. Cullen. According
to Mr. Cullen, similar problems exist under FEMA
emergency relief contracts and his law firm has been
asked to address those problems in the near future.
Individuals
who have hauled emergency supplies during the recent
hurricanes and who believe that they have not been
properly compensated are encouraged to contact The
Cullen Law Firm at info@cullenlaw.com.
To view a copy of the complaint, click here For
additional information, please contact:
Paul
D. Cullen, Sr.
The
Cullen Law Firm, PLLC
1101
30th Street, NW
Suite
300
Washington,
DC 20007
(202)
944-8600 ext 777
(202)
944-8611 [fax] info@cullenlaw.com
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