Federal leasing regulations require written leases specifying the parties, duration, compensation, and responsibility for expenses, and requiring the carrier to assume exclusive possession, control, and responsibility for the equipment during the lease.
The regulations also address insurance, chargebacks, and escrow accounts.
Alternative Names:
Equipment Lease, Owner-Operator Lease
Why it Matters?
The mandated exclusive control provision is what defeats independent contractor defenses in interstate trucking, since the lease itself states the carrier assumed responsibility. That makes the lease among the first documents requested, and its terms frequently contradict the carrier's litigation position that the driver was an independent contractor. The insurance provisions also determine which policy responds when the vehicle was and was not in the carrier's service.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What must a motor carrier lease contain?
Why does the lease defeat independent contractor arguments?
