Western Express Settles Lawsuit with Pilot Flying J
Truckload carrier Western Express has reached an out-of-court settlement of its $75 million rebate-fraud lawsuit filed last year against Pilot Flying J, Pilot’s attorney confirmed.
The settlement amount was not disclosed, but Western’s court claims were the highest dollar amount of any of the more than 20 lawsuits filed against Pilot. The legal action stemmed from allegations that surfaced after an FBI investigation into claims that the nation’s largest truck-stop chain had cheated many customers out of diesel fuel rebates.
“The Western Express case was dismissed, and it has been settled,” said Aubrey Harwell, Pilot’s Nashville, Tenn., attorney. “There was a confidentiality clause, so I’m really not in a position to say anything else.”
Western’s attorney did not return a message seeking comment.
Nashville-based Western, which operates more than 2,300 trucks and reported an operating income of $433 million in 2012, was among several companies that declined to participate in an $85 million class-action settlement in November.
