Many CDL Students Unsatisfied With Swift Settlement

A class-action suit against Swift was settled on October 23, 2012,  after  8,740 former CDL students who lost licenses they had obtained through  Swift Driving Academy in Millington, Tennessee, however, some of those listed in the suit unhappy with the final settlement and they’ve filed an appeal.

In the original settlement, Memphis attorney Jef Feibelman mediated a deal with Swift to forgive $17 million in student loans and to pay $690 to select students “depending on the circumstances,” to cover the student’s retesting fees, refresher courses and the cost to  rent a truck for retesting, and refresher courses, Equities reported.

In addition, Swift agreed to pay  $12,500 to eight of the former students listed in the suit and $1.9 million to the attorneys.

The suit was a result of a Feb. 25, 2008 federal raid on Swift’s training school, resulting in nearly 9,000 former Swift Training Academy students to lose their CDLs.

“Up to then, Swift had enjoyed a special arrangement with Tennessee Department of Safety, which sanctioned Swift employees to administer the road-test portion of the licensing exam taken by students. The state also placed a special driver’s license center within Swift facilities at its Memphis terminal,” Equities reported.

Swift came under fire amid allegations that the company was “cutting corners and making it easy for students to obtain CDLs.”

“Former drivers said, ‘We had so many people we had to cut corners. We didn’t take the state’s 45-minute route. We did a five-minute route and came back,'” Lead attorney Frank Watson III, of Watson & Burns, said.

It was alleged that the company could have unknowingly make it easy for terrorists to obtain a commercial driver’s license.

So, the federal government took swift, dramatic and divisive action and voided CDLs that were issued from May 2005 to January 2008 by the company.

Some who had moved on to work for other companies lost their jobs and many were out of work and had to work to earn their CDLs again.

Many feel the settlement isn’t enough and that more compensation should be given.

What do you think is a fair compensation?

CDLLife will continue to bring you updates on this developing story.