Appellate court reverses trial court and enforces arbitration provision of equipment lease and transportation agreement.

It is highly common for truck drivers who own their own trucks to function as independent contractors and function in that capacity pursuant to agreements with large logistics companies. In one such example, a truck driver brought a claim against a transportation company. The driver alleged he suffered an injury falling from a catwalk on top of a tanker-trailer due to unsafe working conditions, failure to train, and failure to provide safety equipment. The plaintiff was operating pursuant to a three-year lease with language that required any claim or controversy arising out of the agreement to be settled in arbitration. The Court of Common Pleas overruled the preliminary objection seeking to enforce the agreement. The Superior Court held it was clear that the allegations and alleged injuries arose out of operations pursuant to the agreement and that there was nothing within the agreement nor the record that intended to limit the arbitration provision. In distinguishing from other matters, the court focused on the agreement’s language as to claims that “arise out of or relates to . . . operations pursuant to” the agreement and the broad applicability of that language.

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