KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A new lawsuit has been filed against Pilot Flying J, more than a month into a continuing federal probe of rebate-fraud accusations, said The Knoxville News-Sentinel. The federal suit filed by Jerry Floyd in the Northern District of Florida seeks class-action status. Floyd lives in Alexander County, N.C., but does much of his business in Florida, according to the suit.
The lawsuit doesn't ask for a specific amount of damages.
It marks the seventh such case since federal agents raided Pilot's corporate headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 15. Federal search warrants lay out claims of a scheme to cheat trucking customers on diesel rebates that spanned at least five years.
So far, six other lawsuits have been filed:
- Osborn Transportation, Gadsden, Ala. filed a lawsuit in mid-May. It does not ask for a specific amount of damages, but estimates the loss at more than $75,000. The company asks for restitution, punitive damages and interest on the money lost.
- Atlantic Coast Carriers Inc., Hazlehurst, Ga., filed a lawsuit on April 20 against Pilot Flying J in Knox County Circuit Court in Knoxville. Attorneys charged that Haslam was trying to short circuit Atlantic Coast Carriers' class-action lawsuit and asked a Knoxville judge to order Haslam to cease contacting trucking firms that may be victims of the alleged rebate scheme. The judge has denied the charge of witness tampering and a request for a restraining order that would have prevented Pilot Flying J from contacting customers.
- National Trucking Financial Reclamation Services, Little Rock, Ark., filed a suit on April 24 citing the evidence in an FBI affidavit that Pilot reduced promised rebates to some of it customers who received monthly rebate checks.
- W.T.W. Enterprises, Roanoke, Ala., and its owner, Charles E. Winborn, another Pilot customer, filed a suit April 25, charging that the alleged rebate "skimming scheme" cost trucking firms in excess of $5 million; it charges breach of contract and violations of Tennessee's Consumer Protection Act.
- Bruce Taylor, a trucker, filed a class-action suit in Jackson, Miss. According to the complaint Taylor, a trucker, was a Pilot customer since 2005 and had been promised rebates by Pilot. His suit cited the allegations in the FBI affidavit. The suit said Pilot and it agents engaged in fraud, deceptive trade practices and breach of contract.
- Edis Trucking Inc., Franksville, Wis., filed a suit on May 1 in Chicago that accuses the company, Haslam, president Mark Hazelwood and other executive of racketeering. The company is also seeking unspecified money damages including a punitive award and other relief.
The combined network of more than 650 Pilot travel centers and Flying J travel plazas across North America serves more than 1.3 million customers daily. Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J's 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, of which more than 3,000 offer diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) at the pump. 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. Together, Pilot Flying J and Pilot Logistics Services generate sales of nine billion gallons of petroleum annually.
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