In an attempt to avoid the lengthy and expensive legal battle that is surely imminent, Pilot Flying J has offered up a settlement proposal to all of the members of the class action suit that was brought against it over the matter of unpaid fuel rebates.
A judge recently approved the proposed settlement which is being offered to all current and prospective members of the class action suit. The settlement would repay every dollar owed to the company in full as well as 6% interest and attorney fees. The calculations on how much money is owed to each company are already complete and were performed during Pilot Flying J’s own internal audits.
The proposal specifically names eight companies, but could be applied to any number of other companies that qualify to be part of the class. According to NBC News, there could be up to 4,000 trucking companies who were shorted on their fuel rebates who would be eligible to join the class and receive the settlement.
The companies are not required to accept the settlement, and there is no word yet on how many will. According to Dennis Francis, a lawyer and an Inside Tennessee panelist for NBC, PFJ leadership has likely offered the settlement in the hopes of avoiding the massive legal fees since they would likely have to pay the fees for both sides of the argument if they lost the case. If the cases went to court, PFJ would also likely be subject to punitive charges which could easily add up to many times the cost of the settlements offered.
Also included in the proposed settlement is a $10,000 incentive for any company who agrees to accept it – a tactic that was described by Francis as “creative.”
Despite the proposed settlement, there are still over a dozen other legal suits that are still pending in both state and federal courts. The plaintiffs in those cases can elect to join the class action suit or decide to continue to pursue their own separate cases.
It is important to note that the only legal suits that are open to settlement are civil cases, all criminal cases are still under investigation and won’t be open to settlement. Despite this fact, as Dennis Francis points out, none of the 5 PFJ employees who have already pled guilty to serious criminal charges have been placed under arrest or even indicted; a fact that he calls “unheard of.”
Owner and CEO of PFJ, Jimmy Haslam, still denies any knowledge of the alleged fuel rebate scheme and, despite being specifically named in both the FBI affidavit and multiple lawsuits, maintains his own innocence.
Next Story: Pilot Flying J Is $4 Billion In Debt
Source: landline, overdrive, nbcsports, wsj, wbir, nbc, usatoday
Now the fun begins. Once this “settlement” gets all finalized, then the lawyers can warm up for round two. That being, how many carriers accepted the settlement, and then did not pass along those settlement rebates/refunds to their leased on owner/operators? While the potential for hundreds of lawsuits existed before this settlement, the possibility of a landslide of lawsuits now exists if the carriers who settle do not handle their end properly. As an owner operator myself leased to a carrier, I am just waiting to see how this all plays out.
When someone is guilty and has been caught they try do whatever they can to save their own (you know what).
Financially, the companies that were victimized should hold out. They will see a better payday if they can hold out.
PFJ has already admitted guilt in my eyes. Internal audit…LOL. how about a external non biased audit. What PFJ wants is to distance themselves from this gushing wound asap.
There needs to be an IRS audit done as well. Huge payouts yet company is 4 billion on debt. Okay…..
Yes burn them. Shut them down. And we will lose a quarter of or fuel stops and parking places. There will be heck to pay if they go bankrupt. Can you say hostess cup cakes
Ahhh but Twinkies are back!!
I think everyone of the people at PFJ would be put on jail. The company should be sold to. We have to wonder just how many trucking went out of business and how many independent owners had to give up trucking because of this. There are the families of the independents who lost their home and every thing that had. Because they were cheated out of this money
Just accept the settlement & move on folks….
I hope this settlement includes my company not sending me to the Troutville, Va pilot.
Don’t worry, they will probably just take some of those funds out of our Loyalty Cards. “Sorry folks, can’t give out any free ****. We need to pull in actual money from you guys on our overprized merchandise to cover our legal fees”.
If that were to happen, we could always thank them by fueling somewhere else.
BTW, the CEO needs to be strung up. Everyone else involved should have to share one cell.