The owner of a Hanover trucking company that federal trucking regulators forced off the road last year has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Mark David Gunther Sr., owner of Gunthers Transport and Gunthers Leasing Transport Inc., filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court May 15.

Dennis W. King, the attorney representing Gunther in the bankruptcy, said the Chapter 11 filing was done "for other reasons" than the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Nov. 8 order. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration closed Gunthers Transport after the company's drivers allegedly exceeded the 11-hour daily driving limit. An official with the U.S. Department of Transportation    U.S. Department of Transportation Latest from The Business Journals St. Louis ports prepare for rebound in barge trafficNew MVA chief 'to take customer service to the next level' Follow this company said Gunthers Transport remains out of service.

King, a partner at Towson's Danoff & King P.A., declined to elaborate on Gunther's reasoning for the bankruptcy filing. In the bankruptcy filing, Gunther lists more than $3.3 million in unpaid debts. Gunther owes $1.2 million to the IRS, as well as more than $700,000 to Baltimore's First Mariner Bank    First Mariner Bank Latest from The Business Journals Flacco to continue calling plays for First Mariner BankFlacco to continue calling plays for First Mariner BankAnne Arundel Community College holding May 17 job fair Follow this company and $650,000 to Sandy Spring Bank, according to the filings. The debts are "primarily business debts," according to the filings.

Gunther lists more than $3.6 million in assets. Some of the assets listed include co-ownership of Pats Paving & Trucking at 7443 Shipley Ave. in Hanover, as well as property at 7457 Shipley Ave. and 7466 Railroad Ave., both in Hanover.

Federal and state records list the address for Gunthers Transport as 7462 Railroad Ave. in Hanover.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration alleged in November that Gunthers "allowed its drivers to falsify their hours-of-service records" and operated trucks in poor condition that "substantially increased the likelihood of serious injury or death to the motoring public."