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Insurer seeks about $858,000 from Allied Universal security in cargo theft case
HDI Global Insurance says it paid for Mercedes-Benz cargo after two loaded containers were stolen from a guarded Fontana, California yard in February 2024.
HDI Global Insurance Company has filed a subrogation lawsuit in California federal court seeking roughly $858,000 from Universal Protection Services, the company behind Allied Universal Security Services, after two loaded shipping containers disappeared from a guarded yard.
According to the complaint, containers packed with automotive parts were delivered to a Mercedes-Benz facility in Fontana, California, where guards were posted around the clock. The filing alleges that in the early hours of February 11, 2024, unknown individuals drove into the yard and took two loaded containers that were later found with the cargo missing.
The insurer says it covered cargo belonging to Mercedes-Benz USA and then became fully subrogated to the insureds rights. The case is framed as breach of contract and negligence, with HDI pointing to required post orders that it says included training, monitoring on-site CCTV, logging vehicle entries, running fence and gate checks, keeping daily activity reports, and controlling access.
HDI alleges the guards on duty failed to meet those written obligations, including not being properly trained, failing to monitor surveillance cameras, and not detecting unauthorized tractors entering the yard, among other failures. The suit was filed on August 11, 2026, and the complaint estimates the loss at about $858,314, though it lists inconsistent figures in different sections of the pleading.