Pilot Flying J CEO's Bid to Avoid Deposition Is Unsuccessful

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam is facing a May deposition date after his bid to avoid being deposed was rejected by an Alabama judge.

The executive had appealed Alabama Circuit Court Judge Sarah Hicks Stewart's original deposition order issued on April 15, as CSNews Online previously reported. However, Stewart turned down his appeal on April 30. 

Although his deposition was scheduled for May 11, there is a May 13 hearing in the case to discuss whether to move forward with any deposition, according to The Tennessean.

Haslam's deposition comes in the case brought against the company by Wright Transportation, an Alabama-based trucking company, over allegations of fraud in Pilot Flying J's fuel rebate program. Haslam has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing since an April 15, 2013 federal raid on the company's Knoxville headquarters.

"[Haslam's] counsel looks forward to presenting their arguments in support of the defendants' motion for protective order at the court's May 13 hearing. At that time, they hope to be able to provide the court the information it needs to fully evaluate each side's legal position," Pilot Flying J spokesman Tom Ingram said in an emailed statement to the news outlet.

According to The Tennessean, attorneys for Haslam argued he should not be deposed for a number of reasons. They called the deposition a "thinly-disguised effort to obtain discovery from him to be used in the litigation against him, wherever it ends up."

Knoxville-based Pilot Flying J operates more than 650 retail locations in North America.