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Trailer sales and leasing company files for bankruptcy protection

K & L Trailer Sales and Leasing Inc. (K & L Sales) of Knoxville, Tennessee, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Family-owned K & L Trailer Sales and Leasing Inc. (K & L Sales) of Knoxville, Tennessee, filed for bankruptcy protection. Photo: Melinda Gimpel/Upsplash

K & L Trailer Sales and Leasing Inc. (K & L Sales) of Knoxville, Tennessee, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The family-owned business, opened in 1994, employs 23 people. The company sells new and used trailers, including dry van, reefer, flatbed and tankers, among others.

K & L Sales also sells parts and operates a trailer repair shop.

In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, it lists assets between $1 million and $10 million. The trailer sales and leasing company lists liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million. It lists up to 49 creditors in its bankruptcy filing.


The trailer sales leasing company has filed a motion with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight to access its cash collateral to continue operating. 

However, in the filing, K & L claims it has a “reasonable possibility for successful reorganization and believes that its operations will have positive cash flow” if allowed to use its prepetition cash collateral. 

Kris Fellhoelter, president of K & L Sales, did not respond to FreightWaves’ request for comment about the bankruptcy filing. Neither did the company’s attorney, Maurice K. Guinn of Gentry, Tipton and McLemore PC of Knoxville.
Read more articles by FreightWaves’ Clarissa Hawes

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Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 16 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 [email protected].