Covenant Adds Legal Charge to Quarterly Earnings, Ends Quarter in the Red

Covenant Transportation Group, which had eked out a small profit to begin 2017, announced that it would add $900,000 in legal expenses on its financial statements after an adverse ruling in a court case, ending the period with a $39,000 loss.

The carrier updated shareholders because it would alter the results that it still must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from what it released publicly in April.

Covenant said the case involves a cargo claim from 2008. The court previously ruled against Covenant in 2014, and the prior decision was reversed in part by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and returned the case to the lower court for further proceedings in 2015. Covenant said it’s reviewing its options regarding further appeals.

Covenant, which is based in Chattanooga, Tenn., ranks No. 43 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.