USA Law and Practice Contributed by: John D. O’Neill, Jr., David B. Horner, Andrej Micovic and Ryan Pedraza, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
14.5 Limitation Periods Limitation periods vary by state and by claim type, with contractual claims commonly subject to limitation periods ranging from three to six years and tort claims often subject to shorter periods. Class actions and other forms of mass litigation are permitted and can arise in transportation, environmental and accident- related contexts.
supporting investment in freight highways, rail cor - ridors, intermodal facilities and border infrastructure. 13.6 Cross-Border Integration Differences in regulatory requirements, customs pro - cedures, infrastructure capacity and operational prac - tices can create integration challenges across jurisdic - tions. Nevertheless, the highly interconnected North American transportation network supports efficient cross-border freight movements.
15. Emerging Issues and Future Developments
14. Dispute Resolution and Enforcement 14.1 Competent Courts and Tribunals
15.1 Autonomous and Connected Transport Autonomous trucking presents legal questions relat - ing to safety regulation, liability allocation, insurance, cybersecurity and workforce impacts. While deploy - ment remains limited, regulators and industry partici - pants are actively evaluating frameworks to support future commercial adoption. 15.2 Hydrogen and Alternative Propulsion Hydrogen-powered transportation remains at an early stage of development in the United States. Existing regulatory frameworks apply, although federal and state governments are increasingly supporting pilot projects, research initiatives and infrastructure devel - opment relating to alternative propulsion technolo - gies. 15.3 Climate Resilience Transportation agencies are placing increasing empha - sis on resilience planning, particularly with respect to flooding, severe weather, sea-level rise and extreme heat. Climate resilience considerations are becoming more prominent in project planning, environmental review, procurement and infrastructure design. 15.4 Urban Mobility and Congestion Congestion pricing, managed lanes, tolling and low- emission transportation policies are primarily gov - erned at the state and local levels. While approaches vary significantly among jurisdictions, growing urban congestion and sustainability objectives are expected to drive continued experimentation with pricing and demand-management tools, particularly in major met - ropolitan areas.
Transportation disputes may be heard in federal or state courts depending on the nature of the claim. Certain rail-related matters also fall within the juris - diction of the STB, while regulatory enforcement pro - ceedings may be conducted before administrative agencies. 14.2 Arbitration Arbitration, or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (such as dispute resolution boards), is common in transportation concession agreements, major construction contracts, financing documents and commercial operating arrangements. Long-term P3 agreements frequently include multi-tiered dispute resolution procedures combining negotiation, expert Regulatory decisions may be challenged through administrative review procedures and, where permit - ted, judicial review. The applicable process depends on the agency involved and the statutory framework governing the decision. 14.4 Customer Claims determination and arbitration. 14.3 Regulatory Appeals Customers may challenge rates, service levels and contractual performance through litigation, adminis - trative complaints, regulatory proceedings or contrac - tual dispute resolution mechanisms. Rail customers may also seek relief through certain STB processes.
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