A Montana trucking company and freight brokerage has apparently shuttered operations, leaving nearly 275 truck drivers and office personnel without jobs, sources say.
Meadow Lark Transport Inc., of Billings, Montana, had 273 drivers and 337 power units at the time of its closure, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.
FMCSA data states the company’s broker authority was involuntarily revoked on Aug. 15 and its contract carrier authority is slated to be canceled on Oct. 28.
It’s unclear why the 40-year-old company was forced to shut its doors.
However, some motor carriers that hauled brokered loads for Meadow Lark claim they have been fighting to get paid for months.
In an email to carriers, Meadow Lark stated it is not accepting phone calls related to payment status but has “allocated all of our resources towards working on emails” sent to it.
“At Meadow Lark, we greatly value the relationships we have established with our Carrier Partners over our 40-year history,” Meadow Lark wrote in the email, which was obtained by FreightWaves. “We recognize the importance of timely payments and acknowledge that our account with you is overdue. Be assured that we are taking this matter very seriously and are committed to resolving this as promptly as possible.”
According to its website, Rick and Donna Jones started the asset-based 3PL in 1983.
In 2011, the Jones’ oldest daughter, Amanda “Mandy” Roth, purchased Meadow Lark from her parents.
In January, Roth said during an episode of “Take the Hire Road” that Meadow Lark had 40 terminals across the country and posted revenue of more than $200 million.
As of publication Thursday, Roth, who serves as CEO of Meadow Lark, had not responded to FreightWaves’ calls or messages seeking comment.
Legal woes
In June 2022, a former truck driver for Meadow Lark filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status over the company’s lease-driver business program, known as the “driving opportunity.”
The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana alleges Meadow Lark failed to disclose material facts about the economics of its lease program. After paying their truck lease payments, fuel, maintenance and other expenses, the drivers “often had little or no compensation and sometimes even owed Meadow Lark money despite the long hours they worked as drivers,” the suit states.
Drivers also allege in the suit that Meadow Lark failed to pay them the “full promised 75% of the actual gross revenue that it received from its customers,” according to court filings.
No trial date has been set. However, the deadline for pretrial motions is set for Feb. 8, 2024.
This is a developing story.
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Big dee
That’s crazy they had almost all they trucks on the road. They probably didn’t manage they money that good. I wish all the drivers good luck it’s going too get a lot worse before it gets better. The supply chain is at 115 percent capacity that means more low paying loads it’s hard to believe because this time a year it’s usually starting to pick up a little bit
Honorable
What meadowlark did wasn’t a mistake. They were booking loads that they had no intentions of ever paying. That is the story nothing sad about stealing from people when you’re doing so knowingly. The employees and brokers and agents that helped meadowlark do that have no honor. And the suggestion that they the employees and agents posting loads on the dat load board as early as a few days ago. Any answered phone at meadowlark would have had a angry trucking company on the line looking to get paid. From where I sit that’s not bad business. At the end was more Ponzi scheme than it was a trucking company. They stole from who they safely could. And paid who they couldn’t. The agents employees excuse that they didn’t know holds no water. It’s bs. And if it didn’t happen to truckers it would’ve been criminal. Emails prove it as do the recorded phone calls.
TXDummy
You can’t obviously can’t read Carlos, so it seems pointless to tell you, but here’s why they closed:
“ FMCSA data states the company’s broker authority was involuntarily revoked on Aug. 15 and its contract carrier authority is slated to be canceled on Oct. 28.”
Hooked on Phonics would be proud
Trucker123
40 terminals for 300 trucks? Make it make sense.
ThaGearJammer
Nice homie blasted Biden and not the fact that home girl inherited the biz from pops 10x harder then starting something yourself
CARLOS USA 🇺🇸
✅ BidenObamics, where everyone is going bankrupt and joining the soup and bread lines. Stalin would be very proud ♥️
john loughlin
ryder pie didnt give us our last pay ck in 1990 and had to wait 2 more weeks to get unemployment and didnt pay in last 6mos into pension and health care
Raffaelle Mungin
They owe me 1300 dollars of PTO pay