KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A Georgia attorney's bid to take depositions from Pilot Flying J's top executives is "entirely premature and improper," according to a motion that the company filed by the company late Friday, reported The Knoxville News Sentinel.
The Knoxville, Tenn.-based truckstop company has been the subject of intense scrutiny since April 15, when agents of the FBI and the IRS raided its headquarters, and seized documents, emails and computer files related to the alleged scheme to defraud trucking-company customers at its more than 650 truckstops.
Among nearly two-dozen others, Pilot is facing a lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court by several trucking firms who allege they were shorted on diesel-fuel rebates.
Earlier this month, Savannah, Ga., lawyer Mark Tate--who represents those companies--said he wants to take videotaped depositions of Pilot CEO Jimmy Haslam, president Mark Hazelwood and former vice president of sales John Freeman, the report said. He sought to take the depositions last week.
A notice also indicated a desire to take the deposition of Tom Ingram, a consultant working on behalf of Pilot, said the report.
On Friday, Pilot filed a motion to quash the deposition notices. It said the deposition notices are not permitted because Pilot has not filed a response to the lawsuit.
Deposing Pilot's employees before a response is filed, the motion said, "could result in the inadvertent waiver of legal defenses and would be prejudicial to Pilot's defense."
The motion also cited a pending settlement agreement Pilot reached with eight plaintiffs who had sued the company in federal court, the report said.
"If the global settlement is ultimately approved, and plaintiffs do not opt out of the settling class, the claims in this action will be resolved and this case dismissed with prejudice," the filing said. "The early discovery sought by plaintiffs through the deposition notices would likewise be mooted and made superfluous."
Pilot's motion also said that the issues in the case are part of a federal criminal investigation. It said that Pilot employees and officers subject to civil discovery "could be confronted with a situation where they are forced to exercise their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, thereby potentially prejudicing Pilot's position in the civil case."
Five Pilot employees have pleaded guilty in the case, and the criminal investigation is ongoing.
Pilot Flying J is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America. Its network provides customers with access to more than 60,000 parking spaces for trucks, more than 4,400 showers and more than 4,000 diesel lanes. Pilot Logistics Services is one of the largest independent energy logistics companies in North America, selling and distributing more than 1.3 billion gallons of refined petroleum products and serving more than 15,000 customers. Together, Pilot Flying J and Pilot Logistics Services generate sales of approximately nine billion gallons of petroleum annually.
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