Alexandria, VA – The U.S. District Court in central Florida has ruled that 4 Points Logistics, LLC, did not renege on Hurricane Katrina relief contracts when it refused to pay up to 24 hours of detention to truckers who delivered water and ice to Hurricane Katrina victims.  The lawsuit, which was brought by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (OOIDA) and also named Lipsey Mountain Spring Water, was seeking more than $5 million in detention pay for truckers who delivered water and ice to Hurricane Katrina victims.  Icehouse Cartage Express, Inc., Grain Express, Inc., and Northstar Express, Inc., were the carriers represented by OOIDA in the lawsuit.
 
“For nearly two years we have been fighting this lawsuit and I am glad to say that the court found the claims raised against 4 Points Logistics, LLC, to be without merit and that our company acted professionally and responsibly,” stated Harold Bibby, Executive Director of 4 Points Logistics, LLC.    
 
According to Bibby, Lipsey Mountain Spring Water Company contracted with his company to secure the equipment and services of motor carriers across the nation to transport ice and 26 million gallons of drinking water that Lipsey Mountain Spring Water was obligated to deliver under its agreements with the State of Florida for the hurricane recovery.  In addition, 4 Points Logistics LLC, contracted with truckers for detention (or layover charges), which listed 0 hours for a rate of pay of $60.00 per hour.  All parties in the lawsuit agreed that the number of detention hours was intentionally left blank, as no one knew how much detention time would accrue.  The standard industry practice is 10 hours per day for detention charges. 
 
As a result of the massive devastation that resulted from Hurricane Katrina, many truckers were detained for an average of 10 days or more before they were able to make their water deliveries.  Remaining consistent with standard industry practice and the terms of its contracts, 4 Points Logistics, LLC, issued checks to the truckers for 10 hours a day of detention pay.  Every one of the checks issued by 4 Points Logistics, LLC, was found by the U.S. District Court to have been cashed by the recipients.  Furthermore, the court noted that each check contained language that explicitly stated that endorsement of the check constituted payment in full. 
 
However, on October 26, 2005, OOIDA filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in central Florida stating that 4 Points Logistics, LLC, and Lipsey Mountain Spring Water, owed the truckers 24 hours a day (not 10 hours) detention pay, which amounted to more than $5 million in additional pay.  Citing that 4 Points Logistics, LLC, and Lipsey Mountain Spring Water had already paid in full all payments owed to the truckers, both companies refused to make the additional payments.
 
On July 13, 2007, the U.S. District Court in central Florida ruled in favor of the defendants named in the lawsuit.
 
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