Yellow wins truck-fee case

Yellow Corp. won a Supreme Court battle over state fees that could save carriers more than $100 million annually. The company claimed that Michigan rules requiring a $10 yearly payment per truck violated a 1991 U.S. law that said states could not raise truck registration fees “collected or charged” as of Nov. 15, 1991. In a unanimous decision, the justices sided with Yellow and overturned a Michigan Supreme Court ruling.

States are permitted to charge a fee of up to $10 for every truck that passes through, but many states waive the fees for trucks registered in another state if there is a reciprocal agreement. The Yellow case involved trucks registered in Illinois. In September 1991 Michigan changed its policy to say the trucks must have their principal place of business in Illinois, not simply a license plate from the state, to qualify for the waiver in 1992.