diff --git a/jvm/core/src/main/scala/org/scalatest/tools/HtmlReporter.scala b/jvm/core/src/main/scala/org/scalatest/tools/HtmlReporter.scala
index c0d982f2a3..2ca8a7659b 100644
--- a/jvm/core/src/main/scala/org/scalatest/tools/HtmlReporter.scala
+++ b/jvm/core/src/main/scala/org/scalatest/tools/HtmlReporter.scala
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ private[scalatest] class HtmlReporter(
   }
   catch {
     case _: ClassNotFoundException => 
-      new ClassNotFoundException(Resources.flexmarkClassNotFound)
+      throw new ClassNotFoundException(Resources.flexmarkClassNotFound)
   }
 
   private val parser = Parser.builder().build()