Trucking news and briefs for Friday, March 13, 2020:
Indiana judge dismisses lawsuit over increased truck tolls
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says it is “likely to appeal” an Indiana court’s ruling to dismiss its lawsuit over toll increases aimed at Class 3 and larger trucks in the state.
The group filed the class action lawsuit in January 2019 after Indiana instituted a 35% increase in toll price for trucks operating on I-80 and I-90. The lawsuit called for the toll increases to be overturned and for refunds of tolls paid since the increase took effect in October 2018.
OOIDA alleged that the increase in tolls violates the Commerce Clause and the Privileges and Immunities Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Richard L. Young with the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana denied OOIDA’s motion to have the class certified based on a report and recommendation from a magistrate judge. The report and recommendation stated the “new toll structure was not subject to dormant Commerce Clause scrutiny,” and added that OOIDA “failed to state a claim for unlawful discrimination under the Privileges and Immunities Clauses because vehicles traveling within Indiana and between states pay the same distance-based tolls.”
Pennsylvania expanding spotted lanternfly quarantine zone
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) this month added 12 counties to the state’s spotted lanternfly quarantine zone ahead of the invasive insect’s spring hatch.
The quarantine began on May 1, 2019, and requires truck drivers who stop in quarantined counties to have a Spotted Lanternfly Permit, which is given after completing a free online course. Trucking companies that travel through but don’t stop in the quarantined counties are not required to obtain a permit. Additionally, drivers who stop in the quarantine zone just to fuel and keep moving are not required to have a permit.
