A Neighborhood Espresso cargo was allegedly stolen whereas being trucked from New Orleans to Knoxville, Tennessee, in Might 2025, and the fallout has landed in federal courtroom.
Zurich American Insurance coverage Firm filed swimsuit Might 21 within the U.S. District Courtroom for the Center District of Florida after a espresso cargo valued at greater than $132,000 went lacking in 2025.
The insurance coverage firm is searching for to get better $127,029.87 it paid out following Neighborhood Espressoβs insurance coverage declare, plus the espresso firmβs $5,000 deductible, from defendant Capital Logistics Group, a Jacksonville-based logistics firm, in accordance with courtroom paperwork obtained by DCN.
Zurich claims the espresso cargo was loaded onto a single trailer in Might 2025, and a clear invoice of lading was issued β which means the products have been in good order after they left. The criticism alleges Capital Logistics handed the job to a third-party provider known as Massive Present Logistics, LLC, and that Massive Present stole the cargo, with nothing delivered or returned.
DCN reached out to Neighborhood Espresso and Capital Logistics Group for remark however had not heard again at publication time.
Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1919, Neighborhood Espresso describes itself as the biggest family-owned and operated retail espresso model in america. The corporate roasts and distributes espresso, with particularly deep roots within the Gulf South. The courtroom submitting doesnβt state whether or not the Neighborhood Espresso cargo concerned inexperienced espresso, roasted espresso or one other espresso product.
The lawsuit raises a query frequent to stolen-load disputes: whether or not Capital Logistics was appearing as a provider accountable for the freight, or as a dealer that organized transport on another personβs behalf. Zurichβs major declare invokes the Carmack Modification, a federal regulation governing provider legal responsibility for items misplaced or broken throughout interstate trucking.
The espresso theft comes amid a widespread uptick in freight fraud and cargo theft affecting U.S. companies, together with espresso roasters.
Simply final month, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning the trucking and logistics sectors concerning the rise of cyber-enabled strategic cargo theft. The company mentioned estimated cargo theft losses within the U.S. and Canada reached practically $725 million in 2025, a 60% improve from 2024, matching figures from a January evaluation by danger evaluation agency Verisk CargoNet.
The Zurich allegations havenβt been examined in courtroom, and Capital Logistics had not but filed a response as of the preliminary public reporting on the case.
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