After settling an $85 million class action lawsuit in November over allegations it bilked trucking customers out money in the form of rebates from fuel purchases, truckstop chain Pilot Flying J has settled separate litigation brought by one trucking company.

Photo: Evan Lockridge

Photo: Evan Lockridge

Western Express has withdrawn its lawsuit it filed in Louisiana, according to published reports, after originally claiming Pilot Flying J cost it tens of millions of dollars, much of it in the form of additional debt it was forced to take on for alleged lack of rebates.

Terms of the deal have not been released but the Western Express President Paul Weick told the Knoxville News Sentinel, “We never stopped our relationship with Pilot, and they’re a great partner. They had some issues within their organization that they got worked out and it’s our plan for that partnership to last a long, long time.”

Pilot Flying J and CEO Jimmy Haslem have denied any wrongdoing since a raid in April of last year by federal agents on company headquarters, as part of a criminal investigation. Since then at least seven people have pleaded guilty for their roles but have yet to be sentenced.

Meantime, a new lawsuit has been filed against Pilot Flying J in federal court in South Carolina by the trucking company Quality Logistics, claiming it is a victim of rebate fraud. It was originally filed in South Carolina state court.

Pilot Flying J customers who felt they were cheated by the company had the choice of opting out of the class action settlement.

About the author
Evan Lockridge

Evan Lockridge

Former Business Contributing Editor

Trucking journalist since 1990, in the news business since early ‘80s.

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