Class Action Against CRST to Stay in Massachusetts

Hillary Schwab and Rachel Smit have successfully opposed an effort by CRST Expedited to transfer a class action lawsuit filed against it in Massachusetts to Iowa.Hillary and Rachel represent truck drivers in CRST’s truck driver training program. CRST filed a motion seeking to transfer the case from Massachusetts to Iowa because the plaintiff's employment contract designated Iowa as the forum for legal disputes between the parties. The United States District Court for Massachusetts held that enforcement of that forum selection clause would be “unreasonable and unjust.” The Court also declined to transfer the case to Iowa because a plaintiffs’ choice of judicial forum is entitled to “considerable deference” under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.