KANSAS CITY — A U.S. federal appeals court has overturned a lower court’s previous decision to dismiss LTL carrier ABF Freight System’s lawsuit against its chief rival YRC Worldwide and the Teamsters.

The suit — which claimed that a labor concession agreement between YRC and the Teamsters gives YRC an unfair competitive labor cost advantage over LTL competitors with the same union – was first tossed out by Judge Susan Webber because ABF lacked "legal standing" and not have "jurisdiction" to sue.

This week, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling, giving ABF the green light to continue proceedings in what promises to be an acronym-heavy showdown.

 ABF said in a statement that it "looks forward to further proceedings … seeking to level the playing field for all parties."

The company is arguing that the labor agreement between YRC and the Teamsters violates the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA) — a bargaining agreement that covers most Teamster-unionized LTL companies in the U.S.

In its own press release, YRC Worldwide said "the claims are without merit and we are confident we will prevail in district court."

The struggling LTL giant added that the decision will have no impact on restructuring efforts.