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Legal woes force owner of shuttered carriers to file Chapter 7

Cuevas ordered to pay $317,000 in breach-of-contract lawsuits

The owner of two California-based carriers files Chapter 7 as legal judgments pile up. Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

The owner of two defunct California trucking companies filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Wednesday.

This action comes after three breach-of-contract judgments amounting to over $317,000 were entered against Royal Flush 89 Transport and its owner, Getsemani Cuevas of Riverside, California.

In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Royal Flush lists assets of up to $50,000 and liabilities of between $500,000 and $1 million. The shuttered carrier states that it has up to 49 creditors. The company maintains that no funds will be available for unsecured creditors once it pays administrative fees.

Among the company’s list of unsecured creditors, which are last in line for payment, are Pearl Beta Funding, owed nearly $172,000, Mantis Funding, owed $113,500, and Comdata Inc., owed nearly $32,200. Cuevas was ordered to pay the companies in the breach-of-contract lawsuits filed in California, including two in Riverside County Superior Court and one in San Bernadino County Superior Court.


Trucking companies Sierra Mountain Express Inc. of Orlando, Florida, is owed nearly $4,900, and H & S Car Carriers of Nahunta, Georgia, is owed $2,600, according to the petition.

Cuevas, who also owned Cuevas Transport, filed a personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, listing assets of up to $50,000 and his liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million. In the filing, he lists the IRS as owed $19,500 in back taxes and the U.S. Treasury as owed more than $26,000. Both are listed as having priority unsecured claims against Cuevas. 

He also cites the legal judgments against Royal Flush and other company debts in his personal filing. The personal bankruptcy filing includes Cuevas Transport.

Cuevas did not respond to FreightWaves’ request for comment regarding the bankruptcy filings.


His attorney, Michael Smith of Shioda Langley & Chang of Riverside, told FreightWaves he couldn’t comment on the case.

Royal Flush had 12 power units and 11 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration SAFER website. The carrier’s authority was revoked in December 2018 after its insurance was canceled.

His intrastate carrier, Cuevas Transport, had four power units and eight drivers before shutting its doors.

A creditor’s meeting is scheduled for March 30.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Clarissa Hawes.


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Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 18 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to chawes@firecrown.com or @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter.