A Quickway tractor-trailer drives along Interstate 65 in Kentucky in 2018. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)
February 9, 2026 2:24 PM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- Paladin Capital filed for Chapter 11 as it seeks buyers for its trucking units, including the Quickway Family of Cos.
- The company cites reduced demand, lower spot rates and higher costs as major contributors to its financial strain.
- Court‑approved financing will allow Paladin to meet payroll as it explores potential sales.
Paladin Capital Inc. is seeking buyers for carriers the Brentwood, Tenn.-based holding company owns, including the Quickway Family of Cos., after filing for bankruptcy court protection Jan. 26.
In a Chapter 11 filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, CEO Brian Hall said Paladin was filing for court protection to preserve jobs and keep carrier divisions operational.
Paladin is the latest in a growing list of larger carriers to either shutter operations or declare bankruptcy amid the ongoing freight rate recession, including R&R Family of Cos., STG Logistics and Montgomery Transportation.
Hall and Paladin blamed reduced demand, lower spot rates and increased operational costs for the group’s troubles.
Paladin’s subsidiaries include the Quickway Family of Cos., including Quickway Carriers, Quickway Express, Quickway Services and Quickway Transportation; Georgia-based dry van and refrigerated truckload carrier Robert Bearden; less-than-truckload carrier Magnum Solutions; refrigerated goods carrier SNL Distribution Services; North Carolina-based LTL, TL and flatbed carrier Central Logistics; Dolphin Line; and Volunteer Express. All are employee stock ownership program entities.
The filing before Judge Charles Walker said Paladin employed a total of 912 staff, of whom around 600 were full time.
The largest part of the business is the Quickway segment, with more than 450 employees. Quickway Carriers operates 89 tractors, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data. Robert Bearden operates 143 trucks, FMCSA data shows. SNL operates 48 tractors, according to the latest data.
Quickway Transportation shut its Murfreesboro, Tenn., operations in June, according to a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.
In November, Paladin sought to carry out a restructuring through Cards Consulting, the court filing shows.
Paladin Capital — Chapter 11
The company owes Bank of Montreal, First Horizon and Bank of America around $20 million each for equipment leases. However, Paladin has been unable to make equipment payments since June.
Paladin owes Truist Bank $14.64 million. Truist withdrew payments to equipment lenders and on Jan. 16 issued a notice of forbearance default.
On Jan. 21, Bank of Montreal issued a default notice seeking return of equipment. Paladin on Jan. 22 sought to stave off repossession of rolling stock by proposing a weekly payment program to its equipment lenders. Bank of Montreal declined to accept the terms on Jan. 23.
Now, the company is seeking a buyer for the units as going concerns, Hall told Walker in a filing.
The executive told the court he believes “there may well be buyers for some or all of the business units. It does not appear likely that any one buyer would want to acquire the entire enterprise. Rather, strategic buyers may exist for particular business units.”
Robert Bearden had been a “major drain on cash, until now” but won a contract recently that would make “an acquisition of it more likely and stabilize overall cash flow,” he noted in the filing.
On Feb. 5, a Paladin request to approve debtor-in-possession financing through Truist to make payroll of nearly $1.5 million for the weeks ending Feb. 6 and Feb. 13 was granted.
The holding company is not connected with D.C.-based Paladin Capital Group.
