Another trucking company closes.....

[ghost]

So this one surprises me but also does not. No it's not me yet but yes it is family. Carroll is my Uncle and not running it. His son Philip is.

Carroll Fulmer shutting-up shop after 71 years

This caught my attention.

"One of the company’s partners Philip Fulmer said that the decision to dismantle the business was not made lightly and it was a last resort after years of frivolous lawsuits and a difficult economy.

“It is a sad day for us and for Groveland,” said Fulmer. “Sustaining a multi-family business is tough and these last four years since Covid have been the worse.

“We want to do right by our faithful employees, some who have been with us for many years. They matter to us. We hope to wind down as smooth as we can and attempt to get all venders paid before we close.”

The company was founded by family patriarch Carroll Fulmer 71 years ago and has been in the family ever since, with siblings Tony, Tim, Cindy and Philip at the helm.

In 1995, the company moved to Groveland where it put down roots. Many of their employees from the previous location in Orange County followed Caroll Fulmer to Groveland and still work for them

The company owns and rents more than 400 trucks and 1700 trailers, is a major employer in this area and all over the country.

"In recent years, Carroll Fulmer has been hammered with personal injury lawsuits, and some weeks, their lawyers are fighting 6-8 at one time with each claim more than $250,000.

“There are many attorneys who make it seem easy to sue a trucking company,” said Fulmer. “Many of these lawsuits are bogus, meaning that no injury actually occurred, but we still have to fight them and that takes a lot of money.

“These payments cause people to lose jobs and businesses to close and insurance rates to increase for everyone. We can’t carry on. It’s tiring and it’s draining fighting all the time. Sadly, we’ve had enough. I know I can’t deal with this anymore.”

Fulmer said that when they added the lawsuit expenses to the poor state of the economy, Carroll Fulmer had no choice but to close shop."

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Are lawsuits in the trucking/logistics business really as big of an issue as those statements make it seem?

 

[ghost]

Are lawsuits in the trucking/logistics business really as big of an issue as those statements make it seem?

Yes. My other uncle closed his company more than once because of them. I see adds on tv every day from lawyers targeting trucking companies. They have becomes the new slip and fall target. We have our brokerage business and trucking business in two different corporate entities for this very reason.

 

[Blaze]

Are lawsuits in the trucking/logistics business really as big of an issue as those statements make it seem?

My mother-in-law watches WRAL all day long. Probably 3/4 of the commercials are for suing trucking companies.

 

[ghost]

I'll also add that those obviously effect the rates they pay. You know the drill. Insurance companies just spread their losses over all the customer base which means rates go up.

 

[justjeepin86]

I'll also add that those obviously effect they rates they pay. You know the drill. Insurance companies just spread their losses over all the customer base which means rates go up.

Most lawyers should rot in hell

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Are most of the suits due to traffic/roadway incidents, delivery/shipping issues, or labor/employment? I rarely watch tv, and cant say I have seen a single trucking lawyer ad. I will see one for sure now.

 

[ghost]

Are most of the suits due to traffic/roadway incidents, delivery/shipping issues, or labor/employment? I rarely watch tv, and cant say I have seen a single trucking lawyer ad. I will see one for sure now.

I'm not 100% sure on what Philip is talking about but I can tell you any accident with a big truck and the assumption is deep pockets. There are billboards on i-20 advertising different law firms as big truck lawyers as in you get hit by one we can get you money. The majority that I have seen have been traffic related. Now there are some workers comp issues but they are no where as bad as the traffic stuff.

 

[skyhighZJ]

I'm not 100% sure on what Philip is talking about but I can tell you any accident with a big truck and the assumption is deep pockets. There are billboards on i-20 advertising different law firms as big truck lawyers as in you get hit by one we can get you money. The majority that I have seen have been traffic related. Now there are some workers comp issues but they are no where as bad as the traffic stuff.

Yeah they are worse than wall drug billboards or South of The Border ones.

 

[benXJ]

so are the drivers hitting other cars hard enough to injure people, that often?
no one is just suing for 6 figures in the bollard is scraped during a delivery

 

[ghost]

so are the drivers hitting other cars hard enough to injure people, that often?
no one is just suing for 6 figures in the bollard is scraped during a delivery

Like I said I don't know specifics on what Philip is talking about but I know trucking companies have become targets. I see it all the time. Personally I don't think it's actual injuries I think it's they file and it gets settled. I don't believe insurance companies are fighting that hard. Just my opinion. I'm hoping in Sept at our family reunion I can talk to Philip and get more info. As for your second line can you translate that?

 

[benXJ]

I know lawsuits can be frivolous, but there has to be some validity to them otherwise no lawyer would take it / the judge would throw it out (i.e. not just some light damage due to tight parking lots....the bollards or a car fender)

so there seems to be some sucky driving going on?

Curious to hear the full story

 

[ghost]

I know lawsuits can be frivolous, but there has to be some validity to them otherwise no lawyer would take it / the judge would throw it out (i.e. not just some light damage due to tight parking lots....the bollards or a car fender)

so there seems to be some sucky driving going on?

Curious to hear the full story

You might be missing one detail. they have to get in front of a judge and a lot never do. I asked a criminal defense attorney friend one time how many cases he had tried and one. His answer was 2. At that point he had 10 - 15 years or so as an attorney and was licensed in SC and GA. I said what? He said the goal is to not go to court. It's all about negotiation. These guys have deep pockets and filing brings the defendant to the table. At least that is what I believe. I've said it for years we need a law that stops petty lawsuits. If I sue you and loose then I pay your cost would stop a lot I believe. Yes with 400 trucks you are going to have accidents. Right now the driver pool sucks. So yes there could be a lot of sucky driving.

 

[awheelterd]

Ricci lawfirm has what seems like every 4th ad slot in the Raleigh/Durham area. Same with the Greenville ENC market. What they don't have 4 or 5 other lawyers do pushing workers comp.

I know "you can't put a price on a life", but I think we could. Some deadbeat getting killed by a truck isn't worth $5 million. Seems like there should be some calculation of X yrs past wages + Y % = payout for death. Put that money into some sort of interest bearing account and payout set amounts until it's gone.

 

[Shreddinlettuce]

Ricci lawfirm has what seems like every 4th ad slot in the Raleigh/Durham area. Same with the Greenville ENC market. What they don't have 4 or 5 other lawyers do pushing workers comp.

I know "you can't put a price on a life", but I think we could. Some deadbeat getting killed by a truck isn't worth $5 million. Seems like there should be some calculation of X yrs past wages + Y % = payout for death. Put that money into some sort of interest bearing account and payout set amounts until it's gone.

Most states have no cap on “pain and suffering” is the problem. Plus you can bleed a company dry in legal fees and requests without ever going to court. In the early 2000s there was a push for tort reform to prevent frivolous lawsuits, but rhinos sold us out.

My dad was an attorney. A drunk truck driver knocked out a power line causing no power on Labor Day weekend for a power sports dealership. That was their busiest weekend of sales every year with lots of incentives offered. No one was hurt, and the dealership was not even damaged physically. However the trucking company had to pay the dealership lost revenue for the average sales (including potential losses for interest on financed items) of the last 3 years labor days. And the business got to hold onto all of its inventory so it was essentially free money.

This is the type of lawsuit (settled out of court) that is likely what is being referred to

 

[ghost]

Most states have no cap on “pain and suffering” is the problem. Plus you can bleed a company dry in legal fees and requests without ever going to court. In the early 2000s there was a push for tort reform to prevent frivolous lawsuits, but rhinos sold us out.

My dad was an attorney. A drunk truck driver knocked out a power line causing no power on Labor Day weekend for a power sports dealership. That was their busiest weekend of sales every year with lots of incentives offered. No one was hurt, and the dealership was not even damaged physically. However the trucking company had to pay the dealership lost revenue for the average sales (including potential losses for interest on financed items) of the last 3 years labor days. And the business got to hold onto all of its inventory so it was essentially free money.

This is the type of lawsuit (settled out of court) that is likely what is being referred to

Yep! Exactly.

 

[jeepinmatt]

Ricci lawfirm has what seems like every 4th ad slot in the Raleigh/Durham area. Same with the Greenville ENC market. What they don't have 4 or 5 other lawyers do pushing workers comp.

I know "you can't put a price on a life", but I think we could. Some deadbeat getting killed by a truck isn't worth $5 million. Seems like there should be some calculation of X yrs past wages + Y % = payout for death. Put that money into some sort of interest bearing account and payout set amounts until it's gone.

If Joe was making $50k a year, and was 37 years old, and the average life expectancy is 78 years old, and the average inflation was 2.7%, then this year plus the next 42 years of Joe is worth $3,970,994. Just because Joe got hit by a truck doesn't suddenly make him worth $20 million dollars. Also, getting $4 million in todays dollars equates to $12.6million dollars after 42 years, so its kinda like saying Joe was worth 3x as much already.

 

[Shreddinlettuce]

If Joe was making $50k a year, and was 37 years old, and the average life expectancy is 78 years old, and the average inflation was 2.7%, then this year plus the next 42 years of Joe is worth $3,970,994. Just because Joe got hit by a truck doesn't suddenly make him worth $20 million dollars. Also, getting $4 million in todays dollars equates to $12.6million dollars after 42 years, so its kinda like saying Joe was worth 3x as much already.

But again, pain and suffering has no cap in most states… doesn’t matter what he’s worth, but the potential value of losing in court

 

[awheelterd]

But again, pain and suffering has no cap in most states… doesn’t matter what he’s worth, but the potential value of losing in court

We get that, but we are just saying what he should be worth in a more perfect world

 

[jeepinmatt]

But again, pain and suffering has no cap in most states… doesn’t matter what he’s worth, but the potential value of losing in court

I understand, I'm just showing how easy it would be to assign a monetary value to Joe. Since we are putting a price on pain and suffering...should an abused wife who was in a realtionship actually pay the trucking company for joy and excitement since they took Joe out? Of course not! Pain and suffering is a non-quantifiable, so it is foolish that we (as a country and litigious society) have went down a road of quantifying non-quantifiables.

 

[Shreddinlettuce]

I understand, I'm just showing how easy it would be to assign a monetary value to Joe. Since we are putting a price on pain and suffering...should an abused wife who was in a realtionship actually pay the trucking company for joy and excitement since they took Joe out? Of course not! Pain and suffering is a non-quantifiable, so it is foolish that we (as a country and litigious society) have went down a road of quantifying non-quantifiables.

That was the point of the tort reform that did not pass congress…

 

[benXJ]

A drunk driver causing monetary loss? Yea...sue.

That's what I was asking....are these lawsuits 'legit'?

I've always wondered in business lawsuits like this ...could I, the business owner, just show up to court, listen, say not guilty, and let them fight it out? Sure...costs me time....but no money.

And if they put a judgement on me....just say I'm broke.

Or can I pay insurance premiums to make it all go away?

 

[ghost]

A drunk driver causing monetary loss? Yea...sue.

That's what I was asking....are these lawsuits 'legit'?

I've always wondered in business lawsuits like this ...could I, the business owner, just show up to court, listen, say not guilty, and let them fight it out? Sure...costs me time....but no money.

And if they put a judgement on me....just say I'm broke.

Or can I pay insurance premiums to make it all go away?

Legit in the sense they get filed yes. Legit as the person was really injured. Doubtful but you got to go to court to prove it. Most lawsuits in accidents and injuries are against the trucking company but the insurance company is there for just that I believe.

 

[Southern_Transplant]

I understand, I'm just showing how easy it would be to assign a monetary value to Joe. Since we are putting a price on pain and suffering...should an abused wife who was in a realtionship actually pay the trucking company for joy and excitement since they took Joe out? Of course not! Pain and suffering is a non-quantifiable, so it is foolish that we (as a country and litigious society) have went down a road of quantifying non-quantifiables.

Now do a 2 y.o. child... Or a housewife... Yes, it is easy to calculate lost wages. It can (and I believe does) serve as a baseline for providing a family support for a lost wage earner. But many injuries and deaths are lost loved ones that may not have been the primary bread winner.

As for pain & suffering and punitive damages, they should exist with limited caps. In your example of poor Joe the $50k/year guy that got creamed by a truck. His life was more than just the $50k a year. He was helping to raise children and other personal matters.

If it's the loss of a child, the kid was an expense not an asset. But it can't be replaced and you bet your ass there is suffering for the loss of a child.