Rebecca Young (Partner-Birmingham AL) defended a leading global pharmaceutical distributor in two cases arising out of a pile-up accident caused by a tractor trailer that collided with several vehicles stopped for traffic, which resulted in the death of an 11-year-old girl and catastrophic physical injuries to nearly a dozen others involved. The liability against the tractor trailer driver and his employer, neither of which had insurance, was undisputed. At the time of the accident, the driver was contracted to perform work for our distributor client through a broker. The plaintiffs sued our client and its broker for negligent, wanton selection and supervision, alleged failure to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations, and failure to provide and verify insurance. The broker only had $1 million in coverage, which was contested, and filed for bankruptcy, leaving our client with the only pockets to pull from and a potential exposure of over $200 million based on Alabama’s joint and several liability. Rebecca argued that all claims against the client were preempted under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA). The U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama agreed and entered summary judgment in both cases covering all 11 plaintiffs’ claims and the wrongful death action.