Another Pilot Travel Rebate Suit Settled

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

One of only two remaining civil suits against truck stop giant Pilot Flying J,  stemming from a rebate skimming scandal has been settled, but the details are not being made public.
Notice of the dismissal with prejudice was filed by lawyers for HB Logistics in Franklin County Ohio Circuit Court late last week.
The dismissal was the second within a matter of days. A companion suit filed against Pilot by FST Express was also dismissed in the same court.
That leaves only one remaining civil suit against Pilot stemming from allegations that Pilot sales executives deliberately cheated truckers out of promised rebates on diesel fuel purchases.
Settlements with other truckers and the federal government have cost the Knoxville, Tenn. based firm more than $175 million, exclusive of the two recent cases.
Pilot chief executive James A. Haslam was deposed during the litigation, but the testimony of the Cleveland Browns owner was sealed.
Trouble for Pilot became public on tax day in 2013 when IRS and FBI agents conducted a raid on the company offices, seizing thousands of documents.
An affidavit later filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville detailed secretly taped meetings of Pilot sales executives discussing how they targeted less sophisticated truckers who they thought would not notice their rebates were being shaved.
The sole remaining suit was filed by Wright Transportation, an Alabama trucking company. That suit is pending in federal court in Alabama.
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