May 31, 2005, Grain Valley, MO - A U.S. district court judge has granted class certification to a lawsuit filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) against Allied Van Lines Inc. and its agent, TFC Inc.

OOIDA, with member Rodney Rockwell, filed the lawsuit against Allied and TFC on behalf of more than 100 similarly situated owner-operators for violations of the federal truth-in-leasing regulations. The complaint asserts that Allied-TFC's leases violate the federal regulations on at least three key points:

· The leases say the company will not return drivers' escrow funds if the truckers do not give at least 30 days' notice  before terminating their leases;

· The leases require owner-operators to pay for a variety of administrative and other services that the federal regulations say they are not obligated to pay for; and

· The leases charge owner-operators for the company's public liability insurance premium.

On May 23, U.S. District Court Judge Milton Shadur of the Northern District of Illinois concluded that OOIDA and the owner-operators had met all the prerequisites needed for class certification of the case. He further pointed out that the class was the superior action device because the relatively small amounts sought by each plaintiff would have made it unlikely for them to pursue the claims individually. OOIDA and the plaintiffs are seeking declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief, demanding Allied develop and use legal leases and reimburse drivers for escrow funds and illegal chargebacks.

Allied-TFC had argued that the claims for declaratory and injunctive relief were moot because they had revised their leases after the OOIDA complaint had been filed.

Judge Shadur disagreed and wrote that ". Allied-TFC were quite predictably mistaken: (the) Association has objected to various provisions of the new proposed form of lease . But even apart from those renewed objections, the Allied-TFC argument misses the mark. " He pointed out that the cessation of allegedly illegal conduct does not render a case moot unless the defendant can demonstrate that there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated. In his opinion, Judge Shadur determined that Allied-TFC had " not attempted any such demonstration. "

Using the mootness claim, Allied-TFC's furthermore challenged OOIDA's participation in the class. Judge Shadur dismissed the carrier's argument as "plainly a non-starter" and ruled OOIDA may serve as the class representative for its members as to declaratory and injunctive relief.

No trial date has been set yet in the case.

Contact: Mike Schermoly, OOIDA (816) 229-5791

Founded in 1973, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is composed of more than 125,000 owner-operators, professional drivers, and small business truckers from all 50 states, and Canada. OOIDA represents the interests of this nation's more than 350,000 small-business trucking professionals in the legislative and regulatory processes at both federal and state levels.