Iowa Court Cuts CRST Van Expedited Attorney Fees

A federal judge in Iowa has sliced to $1.9 million an award for attorney’s fees to CRST Van Expedited, the latest turn in a 10-year battle over a class-action sexual harassment lawsuit that a judge dismissed after ruling that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought a frivolous complaint against the carrier.

The reduction comes after CRST in August 2013 was awarded $4.7 million in attorney’s fees in the case. But after that amount was rejected by an appeals court, the lower court on Sept. 22 reduced the award.

“Because the court has declined to award fees for the appeal, the court shall not add any additional fees for the same,” Iowa U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade said. “Thus, the court’s final award totals: $1,860,127.36.”

The judge said the award is not based on “mathematical precision and nicety, rather it is arrived at under a flexible and commonsense application ... in light of the realities of the case, how it was litigated and the court’s unique understanding of these proceedings.”

The goal was to aim for “rough justice, and rough justice has been achieved,” the judge added.

Despite the fee reduction, the case remains an important example for employers embroiled in EEOC litigation since it held the commission accountable when it fails to satisfy its “pre-suit investigation duties,” according to a legal blog posting by the international law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

The CRST case began in 2005, when new driver Monika Starke alleged she was sexually harassed by two male CRST trainers. Ultimately, the EEOC brought suit in 2007 on behalf of more than 250 alleged victims.

However, a federal district court dismissed the claims and noted that the EEOC had not adequately investigated or attempted to conciliate the allegations of 67 of the victims.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in May 2016 in favor of CRST Van Expedited in the lawsuit, sending the case back to the lower courts.

“This Court is confident that the court of appeals, and, if necessary, the district court, will resolve the case by taking any proper steps to expedite its resolution in a manner consistent with their own procedures and their responsibilities in other pending cases,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the 7-0 opinion with which Justice Clarence Thomas separately concurred.

CRST ranks No. 19 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.