Cummings et al vs FedEx Ground

This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for Colorado in 2003; the case settled in December 2005.  The plaintiffs are former FedEx Ground drivers who charged that verbal commitments made by FedEx recruiters on potential earnings, working conditions and the "partnership" between the drivers and FedEx Ground were fraudulent.  FedEx Ground argued that the charges were subject to the Operating Agreement's arbitration clause.  The judge ruled that the arbitration clause language did not apply in the charges of fraud, breach of implied contract or deceptive trade practices as the arbitration clause narrowly covered only termination.   FedEx Ground appealed this ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit and lost.   The terms of the 2005 settlement are confidential.