ABF Legal Action

Thank you for visiting this site, dedicated to updates on ABF’s legal actions concerning the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA).

We will continue posting updated information on this site as we proceed in our legal actions. Please check back here for updates. Thank you.

Monday, October 29, 2012
ABF Freight System, Inc. filed its opening brief in support of the appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis) on Monday, October 29, 2012. This filing was another important step in ABF’s ongoing suit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and various YRC subsidiaries. The suit was originally filed in November, 2010, and has been successfully appealed once already. The timing of this next appeals process is uncertain but is expected to take many months.

Thursday, August 30, 2012
ABF Freight System, Inc. filed a notice of appeal in its ongoing lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and various YRC subsidiaries, again seeking review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis). We continue to believe in the strength of our case, which concerns repeated violations of the National Master Freight Agreement by the IBT and YRC. The suit was originally filed in November, 2010, and successfully appealed once already, as the higher court ruled that the district court had erroneously dismissed the case. The timing of this next appeals process is uncertain but is expected to take many months.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012
ABF Freight System, Inc., one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers, on Wednesday said it disagrees with, and is disappointed by, today’s District Court ruling dismissing its lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other parties for violations of the National Master Freight Agreement.

On August 1, 2012, Judge Susan Webber Wright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas entered an order dismissing the case brought by Arkansas Best Corporation’s (Nasdaq: ABFS) largest subsidiary, ABF, without prejudice. This case was originally filed on November 1, 2010, against the IBT and other parties including several YRC Worldwide subsidiaries for violations of the collective bargaining agreement covering most unionized trucking employees in the country. Previous to today’s ruling, Judge Wright had dismissed the case but that dismissal was later reversed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. ABF is studying the ruling and evaluating its options which include, among other avenues, taking a second appeal to the Eighth Circuit or refiling the case in the District Court.

View the full press release here.

Thursday, January 26, 2012
After the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in ABF’s favor and returned the case to the lower court, ABF filed an amendment to its original complaint, and the defendants filed motions to dismiss. The parties submitted their written arguments regarding the motions to dismiss. The final papers were filed on January 16. ABF will now wait on the court’s ruling on the defendants’ motions to dismiss. The timing of the court’s decision is not known, but we expect it will be during the next few months.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis) reversed and remanded a lower court’s previous dismissal of ABF’s lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, YRC, Inc., Trucking Management, Inc. and other related entities. ABF is very pleased with this decision and looks forward to further proceedings on its lawsuit seeking to level the playing field for all parties of the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA).

When the original lawsuit was filed in November 2010, ABF sought to have the lower court create an appropriate grievance review committee to resolve the dispute, or to have the contract amendments benefiting only YRC declared null and void by the court, as required by the NMFA. ABF also sought an award of monetary damages estimated to be approximately $750 million. ABF will continue to seek that relief on remand.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011
ABF attorneys today presented oral arguments in the United States Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis) regarding the ongoing litigation against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and various YRC subsidiaries. We are asking the appellate court to overturn the lower court’s dismissal of our case in December because we believe that ruling constituted clear legal error. One of the judges on the three-member panel indicated that the court would try to meet a July deadline cited by the defendants as the time frame needed for a decision. We will keep you informed about the appellate court’s decision as it is made available.