In Roland Brown v. HDR Logistics, LLC, the plaintiff, Mr. Brown, sued the defendant, HDR Logistics (HDR), after suffering injuries when an employee’s tractor-trailer collided with his tractor-trailer. Brown obtained a default judgment for $750,000 in trial court after HDR failed to respond to the complaint, which had been served on their registered agent appointed under federal law. HDR was served numerous times with numerous pleadings and never filed an answer or responded to anything.
After the default judgment was entered, HDR filed a motion to set aside the default judgment, which the trial court denied. Attorney Patrick Cruise of The Hamilton Firm LLC in Chattanooga, Tennessee, handled the litigation at the trial court level.
HDR then appealed, arguing excusable neglect and claiming that even though their registered agent had been served, they never received notice of the lawsuit. Attorney Cruise associated Donald Caparella to handle the appeal.
On September 18, 2024, the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the original trial court, holding that “there is no point in a company having a designated agent for service of process if litigants cannot count on that agent as a means for serving process on the company.” Notice to your agent for process is notice under the law, after all.
(You can read the full opinion here: Roland Brown v. HDR Logistics LLC Opinion (unsigned).pdf.)
Thereafter, HDR asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to review the case. Earlier this week, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected the request for review. Litigation is now pending in Texas to collect the judgment against HDR’s insurance company under the applicable MCS-90 Endorsement. Overall, this case continually fell into our client’s favor in no small part due to the tenacious work of our legal team.
If you have a case where an insurance company for a trucking company tries to deny coverage, you may still be able to recover the compensation you need and deserve. The Hamilton Firm LLC has handled many cases involving the MCS-90 endorsement. If you have been injured as the result of the negligence or carelessness of a commercial motor vehicle, consult with an expert – call (423) 454-3288, ask for Attorney Patrick Cruise, who is Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and schedule free consultation today.