J. B. Hunt Transport, Inc. v. Bentley

Beasley, Judge.

J. B. Hunt Transport, Inc. (“Hunt”) and Protective Insurance Co. (“Protective”), its insurer, appeal from the judgment entered on the jury’s verdict, awarding compensatory and punitive damages resulting from an automobile accident caused when a truck driven by Hunt’s employee, Lutter, collided with Bentley’s parked automobile.

In 1989, Hunt was the largest trucking company in the country and had 4,500 drivers in its employ. Hunt operated on a “forced dispatch” system, meaning that a driver could not refuse a load. To do *251so resulted in termination. Hunt’s trucks averaged 135,000…