West Virginia trucking company files for bankruptcy

December 13, 2024

A West Virginia-based trucking company, which hauls coal, logs and wood chips, recently filed for bankruptcy.

Cedar Trucking Co. of Glasgow, West Virginia, filed its Chapter 11 petition Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

In the seven-page bare-bones petition, Cedar Trucking, which seeks to reorganize, lists its assets as between $500,000 and $1 million, and liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. The trucking company states that it has up to 49 creditors and maintains that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees.

Robert Keenan, who is listed as the president of Cedar Trucking, is representing himself pro se in the bankruptcy case. FreightWaves has reached out to Keenan for comment.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website, Cedar Trucking has 22 drivers and the same number of power units. It obtained its common and contract authority in March 2020. The company’s bodily injury property damage coverage insurance remains active, according to FMCSA.

No reason was given as to why the company is seeking bankruptcy protection. However, in October, Cedar Trucking listed a number of 2018 Peterbilt tractors for sale on its Facebook page.

Among the largest creditors with unsecured claims against Cedar Trucking are the West Virginia Tax Division, owed nearly $1.1 million in payroll and other taxes; the Department of Treasury in Wheeling, West Virginia, owed nearly $305,500 in payroll and other taxes; and Workforce West Virginia in Charleston, owed nearly $18,000 for unemployment benefits.

The company’s trucks had been inspected 39 times, and six had been placed out of service in a 24-month period, resulting in a 15.4% out-of-service rate. This is lower than the industry’s national average of around 22.3%, according to FMCSA.

The trucking company’s drivers had been inspected 47 times over the same 24-month period, with none of its drivers being placed out of service. The national average is around 6.7%, according to FMCSA.

In the past two years, the company’s trucks had been involved in one injury crash and one tow-away.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge B. McKay Mignault has ordered Keenan and Cedar Trucking to submit the company’s schedules of assets and liabilities as well as the company’s statement of financial affairs with the court no later than 14 days after filing the voluntary Chapter 11 petition on Tuesday.

Cedar Trucking’s small business plan and its disclosure statement are due by June 9, 2025. A creditors meeting has not been scheduled.

Black lung suit

In July 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin entered a default judgment against Cedar Trucking, awarding nearly $50,000 to one of its former coal drivers, William D. Ramsey. Cedar Trucking had previously been ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay Ramsey for black lung benefits. Goodwin also ordered Cedar Trucking to pay attorney fees of nearly $12,400 to Leonard J. Strayton, who represented Ramsey in the civil action. In September 2022, Stayton filed an application for post-judgment remedies in District Court against Cedar Trucking for his legal fees and to pay Ramsey’s judgment. The docket hasn’t been updated to reflect whether Cedar Trucking paid the court-ordered judgment and attorney’s fees.

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