Miami-Dade Trucking & Aggregate Hauling Companies: A Legal Playbook for Owner-Operator Agreements, Compliance, and Collections

Author: Yoel Molina, Esq., Owner and Operator of the Law Office of Yoel Molina, P.A.

29 October 2025

Miami-Dade Trucking & Aggregate Hauling Companies: A Legal Playbook for Owner-Operator Agreements, Compliance, and Collections

If you run a trucking or aggregate hauling company in Florida—moving base rock, sand, millings, demo, or heavy materials—your profits depend on three things: (1) dependable owner-operators, (2) clean compliance, and (3) invoices that get paid on time. One vague dispatch term, one missing lien right on a job tied to a construction site, or one underpriced fuel surcharge can erase a month of margin.

I’m Attorney Yoel Molina. Our firm has worked with Florida transport and service companies like yours—including aggregate haulers and small fleets that recruit owner-operators and scale routes across Central and South Florida. Several companies in this space publicly emphasize owner-operator opportunities and flexible scheduling; others operate small Florida intrastate fleets—your contracts and compliance need to match that reality. ( R&M Trucking Solutions Group LLC)

Who This Guide Is For

Aggregate and construction-material haulers (dump, end dump, super tag, walking floor)
Local LTL/FTL carriers and hotshot operators
Brokers/carriers of record coordinating short-haul dispatch, yard-to-site runs, and night pours
Fleet owners recruiting or contracting with owner-operators (O/Os) on day rates or per-ton/mile pay

Executive Checklist (Start Here)

Use separate, attorney-drafted templates for owner-operator (O/O) lease agreements, customer hauling/service agreements, and independent contractor agreements for non-driving roles.
Nail down rate sheets and accessorials (wait time, fuel surcharge, environmental fees, night/weekend, scale tickets).
Standardize dispatch rules (accept/reject windows, no-shows, safety shutdowns) and documentation (scale tickets, e-tickets, PODs, geo-tagged photos).
Align your compliance packet (drivers’ credentials, vehicle docs, insurance, incident reporting) with Florida and federal requirements for your operating profile (intrastate/interstate; non-hazmat vs. hazmat). ( SAFER Web)
Protect cash flow with deposits/retainers for new customers, clean invoicing, late fees/interest, and attorney’s fees clauses.
Preserve lien and bond rights when hauling to construction projects; calendar notice deadlines from your first furnishing of services/materials.
Control subcontractors and O/Os with COIs naming you as additional insured (primary & non-contributory), waiver of subrogation, safety SOPs, and drug/ALCOHOL policies.
Use limitations of liability and indemnity that match your risk (load value, site hazards, nighttime ops).
Set dispute resolution to Florida law with venue in Miami-Dade County; require mediation before litigation/arbitration.
Build a collections playbook (reminder cadence, demand templates, conditional lien releases, stop-service rights).

Contracts That Actually Protect Margin

Owner-Operator (O/O) Lease/Contractor Agreement

Your owner-operators are your capacity. The agreement should:

Define the relationship (independent contractor, not employee), control of work, and responsibility for equipment, fuel, maintenance, and tolls.
Pay structure: flat day rate, hourly, per mile, per ton, or per load—with accessorials spelled out (detention/wait time after X minutes, layover, standby, gate fees, spotter service).
Fuel surcharge (FSC): formula tied to a public index with a floor/ceiling so spikes don’t wipe out margin.
Safety & compliance: CDL class, medical card, drug/alcohol program participation, ELD or timekeeping method if required by your operations, and immediate disclosure of violations/accidents.
Dispatch rules: acceptance windows, communication standards, GPS/telematics use, and right to reassign the load on no-shows.
Cargo risk & site hazards: who covers tarping, securement, overweight/overdimension penalties, and site-specific PPE; when the driver may refuse unsafe loading or unstable piles.
Insurance: minimum auto liability/physical damage; cargo limits matched to your typical load value; COI naming your company as additional insured with waiver of subrogation.
Non-solicit & confidentiality: protect your customers, rates, and route intel for a reasonable period.
Chargebacks & offsets: narrowly defined (e.g., ticketed overweight due to driver conduct, verified customer claims).
Termination: cure periods for performance issues; immediate termination for safety/fraud.

Customer Hauling/Service Agreement (Contractors, Asphalt/Concrete Plants, Quarries)

Avoid “handshake” terms that evaporate at AP:

Scope & rates: list materials, sites, haul zones, expected tonnage, required equipment (e.g., aluminum vs. steel dump), and escalators for fuel or quarry surcharges.
Access & site conditions: define load-out windows, scale procedures, staging limits, and customer duty to maintain safe loading areas and passable haul roads; charge for wasted trips.
Tickets & proof: accept physical or e-ticketing; require scale ticket numbers; allow electronic PODs with geotags.
Delays: detention after the first free minutes at load and delivery; weather and force majeure rules for stoppages.
Risk of loss: clarify when risk transfers; address contamination/mixed loads; limit liability to the invoice value of the haul plus a capped amount.
Payment terms: net days, late fees/interest, recovery of attorney’s fees/costs; stop-service rights after notice for nonpayment.
Construction linkage: collect the job’s legal details (owner/GC/bond) at onboarding to preserve lien/bond rights.

Subcontractor/Overflow Carrier Agreement

When you need extra trucks:

Mirror your standards (safety, insurance, documentation, dispatch).
Flow-down customer obligations (site rules, schedule, PPE).
Rate confirmation per load/day with accessorials; your right to audit tickets/GPS.
Non-circumvent: prevent poaching of your accounts.

Compliance & Risk—Right-Sized for Florida Ops

Operating profile: Many Florida haulers run small fleets intrastate and non-hazmat; if that’s you, your insurance and documentation stack should reflect it—still rigorous, but streamlined for local/regional runs. ( SAFER Web)
Vehicle/driver files: licenses, medicals, inspection logs, maintenance records, incident reports, and training acknowledgments.
Site-specific SOPs: quarry plant rules, asphalt plant hot-load protocols, night paving lighting, spotter use, and backup alarms.
Incident documentation: photos, scale tickets, GPS breadcrumbs, and time-stamped notes—objective facts win disputes.
Marketing promises vs. reality: If you recruit O/Os with “top-level rates” or “lots of work,” match that with clear, written expectations to avoid misrepresentation claims. ( R&M Trucking Solutions Group LLC)

Cash Flow: Price It, Prove It, Get Paid

Rate sheet discipline: show base rate + FSC + accessorials; avoid “all-in” quotes that hide costs.
Invoice package: customer PO/contract, rate confirmation, scale/e-tickets, GPS proof of service, and any approved COs.
Reminder cadence: friendly at 5 days past due, formal at 15, demand at 30, then lien/bond action or suit per policy.
Releases: exchange conditional lien releases upon proof of payment; issue unconditional only when funds clear.
Personal guaranties: for thin LLCs or new accounts with high exposure, secure a guaranty to improve recovery odds.
Card/ACH on file: authorization at onboarding; charge late fees and interest exactly as the contract states.

Digital Ops That Speed Approvals

E-ticketing & photos: adopt standard filenames (job-date-truck-load#) and geo-tagging; attach to invoices automatically.
Customer portals: if your larger customers need portal uploads, make it a scope item with an admin fee for manual re-entry.
Carrier onboarding & compliance: whether you use a third-party platform or in-house, require verified COIs and automated expiry reminders so a single lapsed policy doesn’t sideline a week of work. ( Truckstop)

Five Costly Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

Vague accessorials. Detention, standby, redelivery, gate fees—if they’re not in writing, you won’t collect them.
No fuel formula. Absent a transparent FSC, fuel spikes turn profitable lanes into losses.
Handshake dispatch. Without written rate confirmations, tickets, and GPS, disputes devolve into “he said, she said.”
Early waivers. Never give a final unconditional release until money clears; use conditional forms.
Loose O/O control. Missing COIs, unclear chargebacks, or weak safety language turn minor issues into major liabilities.

Local Reality: Miami-Dade & Central Florida Lanes

South Florida demand is tied to active construction, road work, and port activity. Many Florida carriers in this segment run small fleets, contract with O/Os, and highlight flexible schedules and strong rates. Build your contracts and compliance around that mix—documented dispatch, clean tickets, enforceable accessorials, and tight collections. ( R&M Trucking Solutions Group LLC)

How Our Firm Helps Trucking & Aggregate Hauling Companies

At the Law Office of Yoel Molina, P.A., we’ve worked with companies like yours across Florida, including Miami-Dade. We routinely:

Draft and negotiate owner-operator agreements, customer hauling contracts, and overflow-carrier agreements
Build pricing and accessorial playbooks (FSC, detention, standby, redelivery) your team can enforce
Set up documentation workflows (e-tickets, GPS/photo proof, conditional releases) that accelerate approvals
Structure insurance/indemnity packages and subcontractor controls that actually hold up in disputes
Preserve lien/bond leverage on construction-linked hauling and prosecute delinquent accounts professionally
Serve as outside general counsel for collections, disputes, and growth deals

Let’s Talk

For legal help with contracts, compliance, and collections tailored to your trucking or aggregate hauling company, contact Attorney Yoel Molina at admin@molawoffice.com, call (305) 548-5020 (Option 1), or message via WhatsApp at (305) 349-3637.

Educational Notice: This article is for general information only and not legal advice. Your situation may require specific guidance under Florida law and your client agreements.