Strafford, Missouri-based truckload carrier RBX Inc. and its equipment leasing affiliate, Humper Equipment, have filed suit against Paccar Financial Inc. of Bellevue, Washington. They are asking a Missouri bankruptcy judge to force Paccar to turn over 28 Kenworth and Peterbilt tractors it repossessed in late November amid an ongoing engine performance dispute with the global commercial truck financing company and its subsidiary, Paccar Engine Co.
Humper Equipment filed its bare-bones emergency Chapter 11 petition on Dec. 12, 2024, and its affiliate, RBX Inc. filed its petition, seeking to reorganize, a day later in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, claiming the filings were necessary to prevent further repossessions and reclaim those vehicles that were repossessed,” James A. Keltner, CEO of RBX, stated in court filings. Both companies seek to reorganize and continue operating as usual.
According to the seven-page complaint filed Friday, prior to the commencement of these bankruptcy proceedings, Humper and RBX “began experiencing engine performance issues in a large number of the trucking units, which, upon information and belief, were caused by computer malfunctions stemming from faulty design by Paccar Engine.”
In early November 2024, the entities participated in ongoing attempts to resolve the issues related to the engine malfunctions with Paccar Engine and Paccar Financial. Despite those efforts, Paccar seized the tractors from RBX’s facility in Strafford.
However, in court documents, Keltner acknowledged that Humper and RBX “did not pay in full their financing obligations [to Paccar] and attempted to renegotiate such obligations in light of the performance issues, which led to more downtime and significantly increased RBX’s cost of doing business.”
FreightWaves has reached out to Ken Hastings, senior director of investor relations at Paccar, and Paccar’s attorney, John J. Hall, for comment.
Several trucking companies have filed suit against Paccar over alleged defects associated with its MX-13 diesel engines found in certain Kenworth and Peterbilt tractors.
Humper, RBX amend Chapter 11 petitions
In an interview with FreightWaves, Robert E. Eggmann, a principal at St. Louis-based Carmody MacDonald, blamed a computer program glitch for the misleading financial numbers listed in Humper and RBX’s initial petitions because the attorney who filed the petitions didn’t have the financial schedules when the entities filed for emergency bankruptcy protection.
In the four-page amended petition for Humper, which was filed by Eggman on Dec. 23, 2024, the equipment leasing company lists assets as up to $10 million and liabilities as between $10 million and $50 million. The petition lists the number of creditors as up to 99 and states that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.
RBX’s amended Chapter 11 petition lists assets and liabilities as between $10 million and $50 million.
On Dec. 30, 2024, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brian T. Fenimore granted Humper and RBX’s motion for joint administration of the Chapter 11 cases. He also granted the companies’ motions, which included authorizing payment of pre-petition wages, salaries, reimbursable employee expenses and other benefits and to use cash collateral on an interim basis.
Fenimore has granted Humper and RBX’s motion to extend its time to file its summary of assets and liabilities and other schedules as well as its statement of financial affairs to this Friday.
A creditors meeting is slated for Jan. 15.
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