Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

v3.23.3
Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Contingencies

On September 26, 2023, Rodney Bell, Michael A. Roberts and Theresa Woods, three shareholders of the Company, filed a complaint (the “Shareholder Complaint”) against the Company and certain of its directors and officers in the Third District Chancery Court sitting in Greeneville, Tennessee. The Shareholder Complaint alleges, among other things, that the Company’s shareholders have the right to vote on certain transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement and seeks an injunction against the consummation of the transaction until a shareholder vote was held. Based on the allegations contained in the Shareholder Complaint, the court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order (the “TRO”) enjoining the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. On October 4, 2023, the shareholder plaintiffs filed an amended complaint setting forth additional bases for their contention that the transactions set forth in the Merger Agreement necessitated a shareholder vote under Tennessee law. On October 4, 2023, the shareholder plaintiffs further filed a motion for a temporary injunction enjoining the closing of the transaction until the entry of a final judgment as to the requirement for a shareholder vote. On October 11, 2023, the court held a hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary injunction, at the conclusion of which it took the matter under advisement and entered an order extending the TRO until further order of the court. On October 25, 2023, the court held a telephonic conference in which it ordered the dissolution of the TRO. The court did not grant the shareholder plaintiffs’ request for a temporary injunction. On October 26, 2023, the shareholder plaintiffs filed an emergency motion to reinstate the TRO and for leave to take an interlocutory appeal. On October 31, 2023, the court held an emergency hearing on the shareholder plaintiffs’ request to reinstate the TRO and to take an interlocutory appeal of the court’s ruling. During the hearing, the shareholder plaintiffs withdrew their request to reinstate the TRO. The court took the request for leave to take an interlocutory appeal under advisement.
On October 31, 2023, Omni filed a complaint (the “Omni Complaint”) against the Company and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware. The Omni Complaint alleges, among other things, that the Company is in breach of its obligation to close the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement and seeks specific performance to compel the Company to close and related declaratory relief. the Company has not yet formally responded to the Omni Complaint, but the Company believes that Omni has not complied with certain of its obligations under Sections 7.03 and 7.14 of the Merger Agreement. Consequently, the Company believes the closing condition contained in Section 8.02(b) of the Merger Agreement will not be satisfied at the anticipated closing of the transactions under the Merger Agreement, and the Company will not be obligated to close. As a result, the Company is considering its rights and obligations under the Merger Agreement. the Company intends to vigorously defend its rights in this matter, but there can be no assurance that Omni will not prevail in its claims or that the court will not compel the Company to close the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

The Company is party to various legal claims and actions incidental to its business, including claims related to vehicle liability, workers’ compensation, property damage and employee medical benefits. The Company accrues for the uninsured portion of contingent losses from these and other pending claims when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. Based on the knowledge of the facts, the Company believes the resolution of claims and pending litigation, taking into account existing reserves, will not have a material adverse effect on the condensed consolidated financial statements. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict, and the Company’s view of these matters may change in the future as the litigation and related events unfold.

Insurance coverage provides the Company with primary and excess coverage for claims related to vehicle liability, workers’ compensation, property damage and employee medical benefits.
For vehicle liability, the Company retains a portion of the risk. Below is a summary of the Company’s risk retention on vehicle liability insurance coverage maintained by the Company up to $10,000 (in thousands):

Company
Risk Retention
Frequency Layer Policy Term
Expedited Freight¹
LTL business $ 5,000  Occurrence/Accident²
$0 to $5,000
10/1/2022 to 10/1/2023
Truckload business $ 2,000  Occurrence/Accident²
$0 to $2,000
10/1/2022 to 10/1/2023
LTL, Truckload and Intermodal businesses $ 5,000  Policy Term Aggregate³
$5,000 to $10,000
10/1/2022 to 10/1/2023
Intermodal $ 1,000  Occurrence/Accident²
$0 to $1,000
10/1/2022 to 10/1/2023
¹ Excluding the Final Mile business, which is primarily a brokered service.
² For each and every accident/incident, the Company is responsible for damages and defense up to these amounts, regardless of the number of claims associated with any accident/incident.
³ During the Policy Term, the Company is responsible for damages and defense within the stated Layer up to the stated, aggregate amount of Risk Retention before insurance will continue.

Also, from time to time, when brokering freight, the Company may face claims for the “negligent selection” of outside, contracted carriers that are involved in accidents, and the Company maintains third-party liability insurance coverage with a $100 deductible per occurrence for most of its brokered services. The Company maintains workers’ compensation insurance with a self-insured retention of $500 per occurrence.

Insurance coverage in excess of the self-insured retention limit is an important part of the Company’s risk management process. The Company accrues for the costs of the uninsured portion of pending claims within the self-insured retention based on the nature and severity of individual claims and historical claims development trends. The Company believes the recorded reserves are sufficient for all incurred claims up to the self-insured retention limits, including an estimate for claims incurred but not reported. However, estimating the number and severity of claims, as well as related judgment or settlement amounts is inherently difficult, and the Company may fail to establish sufficient insurance reserves and adequately estimate for future insurance claims. Since the ultimate resolution of outstanding claims as well as claims incurred but not reported is uncertain, it is possible that the reserves recorded for these losses could change materially in the near term. Although, an estimate cannot be made of the range of additional loss that is at least reasonably possible.