DALLAS, Texas — Judge Dianne Jones of Dallas County Court on Friday affirmed the July jury verdict of $604,025,000 against freight broker C.H. Robinson in Lipe v. Lupus Superior, turning the verdict into a formal judgment, FreightWaves reported. With prejudgment interest accruing at 6.75 percent since March 2023, roughly another $107 million has been added, bringing the total to about $711 million — and it continues to grow.

The case stems from a March 2021 crash in Jackson, Mississippi, that killed three people, including Jennifer Lipe, for whose estate the case is named, and Gorgonio Gonzalez, an employee driver of carrier Lupus Superior, which C.H. Robinson had hired to move a load for Arizona Beverages. The lawsuit was heard in Texas because Lupus Superior is headquartered there. The suit alleged the broker negligently selected an unsafe carrier.

The jury assigned 45 percent of the fault to the driver, 32 percent to carrier Lupus Superior and 23 percent to C.H. Robinson. But the court also found the driver was effectively a 'borrowed employee' of the broker, holding C.H. Robinson responsible for the driver's share too — 68 percent in total. Under Texas law, crossing the 50 percent threshold makes a defendant jointly and severally liable, meaning the broker can be answerable for the full award, according to reporting on the judgment. FreightWaves noted verdicts of this size against a publicly traded, investment-grade company are exceedingly rare.

C.H. Robinson says it did nothing wrong. 'Nothing about our rejection of the judgment diminishes the profound loss suffered by the families in this case,' said Dorothy Capers, the company's chief legal officer, in comments reported by Logistics Management. 'But C.H. Robinson did not cause or contribute to the accident, and accountability must be grounded in the facts and the law.' Capers said Lupus Superior had safely delivered nearly 270 loads for C.H. Robinson customers and held a Satisfactory FMCSA safety rating both when it was selected and after a federal review of the crash, and she called for a national standard for evaluating carrier safety. The company says it is confident in its appeal.

Why it matters for our readers: thousands of Punjabi truckers in the US run loads booked through big brokers. This judgment sharpens the legal fight over how far up the freight chain responsibility reaches when a hired carrier crashes — a question that affects broker vetting, carrier selection and insurance costs across the industry. The ruling is a trial-court judgment, not a final appeal decision, and no payment has been reported.

Sources: FreightWaves, 'Texas judge upholds nuclear verdict against C.H. Robinson,' October 2026; Supply Chain 24/7 / Logistics Management, 'Texas Court Upholds $604 Million Award Against C.H. Robinson,' October 20, 2026; The Driver Gear summary of the judgment, October 20, 2026.