A North Carolina court ruling may favorably impact dozens of
trucking companies hauling oversized and overweight freight
through the state. Parker Poe won the case for a transportation
client in Wake County Superior Court.
On January 31, 2008, the court held that the Department of
Crime Control and Public Safety, Division of State Highway
Patrol (DSHP), improperly invalidated a special permit issued
to a transportation company specializing in hauling overweight
loads. The court ordered that DSHP refund the penalty of
$24,492.03 assessed against the company, plus interest.
DSHP originally cited the company for failure to have the
proper number of certified escorts accompanying its rig, using
that operational violation to invalidate the company's
special permit and assessing an overweight fine. The judge
ruled that DSHP has no authority to invalidate a special permit
issued by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and
that an operational violation does not negate the weight
allowance stated on the special permit.
In this case, the company had a valid special permit that
allowed a gross weight of up to 196,000 lbs. The company,
however, failed to engage a second escort for the portion of
its trip through North Carolina. When the rig stopped at the
Hendersonville weigh station, the company was cited for failure
to have a second escort and fined $500 as allowed by law.
Despite weighing nearly 15,000 lbs. less than the weight
allowance on its special permit, the company was fined the
additional $24,492.03 for being over the license weight of
80,000 lbs.
At the hearing, DSHP acknowledged that it has no authority to
invalidate special permits, but argued that failure to comply
with the escort requirement caused the special permit to be
temporarily suspended, thus allowing it to assess a statutory
overweight penalty based on the license weight of 80,000 lbs.
The judge disagreed, ruling that an operational violation does
not negate the weight allowance stated on a special
permit.
DSHP regularly issues overweight citations based on an
operational violation of an otherwise valid permit. In 2006
alone, more than 100 companies faced stiff penalties despite
having a special permit and regardless of whether or not they
were within the weight allowance. In addition to the penalties,
DSHP requires that companies make arrangements to pay the
penalty before being allowed to continue on their trip. This
has resulted in delays of up to two days, seriously impacting
the companies' ability to meet their customers'
transportation schedules.
The judge's ruling is one of the first to address
DSHP's practice of invalidating special permits based on
operational violations. The DSHP is likely to appeal the ruling
to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Parker Poe currently represents six other trucking companies that were fined for similar escort and weight violations.
This Client Alert is intended to inform readers of recent developments in the field of transportation law. It should not be considered as providing conclusive answers to specific legal problems.