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Insurance fraud remains a significant and evolving problem. Recently, two New Orleans personal injury attorneys were convicted in federal court for their roles in an insurance fraud scheme involving staged accidents and unnecessary medical procedures designed to inflate claims. They were among 63 individuals charged by the federal government, which alleged the scheme operated from 2011 through 2024 and specifically targeted commercial trucking companies due to the substantial insurance coverage those companies are required to carry. While the trucking and… Read More

Have you ever finished a “quick call” with your attorney and felt like you needed just a bit more clarification? Something stronger than Google—but not quite worth another call? So what’s the next logical step? Ask AI. At least, that’s what the recent publicity push would have you believe. (Click here to read our recent article on the status of AI litigation in Virginia.) It seems simple enough. Take what your lawyer said, paste it into ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude—or whatever… Read More

A deepfake is artificial media (images and/or video) created by using deep learning AI to replace one person’s likeness or voice with another’s. It manipulates existing footage or generates new content to create images that appear very real, but are not. It doesn’t take much mind-wandering to understand how this could go utterly wrong and create defamatory content: suddenly, AI can produce video of your fellow employee confessing to stealing office supplies; your grandmother becomes a kung-fu fighting champion and… Read More

Technology has become a core part of modern fleet operations. Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), dash cameras, GPS tracking, and telematics platforms help carriers meet federal requirements, improve safety, and manage drivers more efficiently. But in litigation and enforcement actions, that same data can quickly shift from a compliance asset to a liability exposure. Transportation companies need to understand how regulators, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and courts are increasingly using technology-generated data—and what steps carriers should take now to protect themselves. When Helpful… Read More

Cargo theft is on the rise. Between 2021 and 2024, cargo theft incidents increased more than 90%. In 2025, cargo theft cost the freight industry nearly $725 million. It is well known that the cargo theft industry has shifted from a small family operation into an industry dominated by organized crime. This has resulted in more focused thefts of high-value cargo. In fact, the average theft value was $273,990 in 2025. Unfortunately, there is no indication that the amount of… Read More

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released its 2025 report, Trucking Litigation: A Forensic Analysis, in December, and the findings underscore litigation trends that should command the attention of motor carriers and captive insurers alike. Litigation Is a Sustained Operational Risk ATRI analyzed thousands of state and federal tort cases filed between 2019 and 2024. In 2022 alone, 12,817 trucking-related cases were filed in state courts. The data confirms that elevated litigation levels are not a temporary spike—they represent a… Read More

As noted in previous Setliff Law articles (May, September, and October), Congress has seen renewed efforts to strengthen enforcement of the long-standing federal requirement that commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders must speak and understand English. This push aligns with broader concerns about non-fluent drivers, amplified by the Trump administration’s focus on deporting illegal immigrants and several high-profile commercial vehicle accidents involving immigrant drivers—where immigration status was sometimes blamed, rightly or not. On January 30, 2026, the Florida Department of Highway… Read More

Many small business owners assume operating agreements are only for large companies or companies with multiple owners or that state laws provide default rules that are “good enough.” In reality, an operating agreement is one of the most important documents a business can have, regardless of size. An operating agreement is not just a formality. It is the rulebook for how your business operates, how decisions are made, and what happens when something goes wrong. Without one, you are leaving… Read More