Pilot Flying J Settlement Garners No Formal Objections

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The preliminary settlement to a federal class-action lawsuit over allegations of fraud in Pilot Flying J's fuel rebate program has generated no formal objections, according to a News Net 5 report. Court documents state that "no class member" elected to object to the settlement terms, which will pay trucking companies 100 percent of owed fuel rebates plus 6-percent interest.

Pilot Flying J estimates that it will repay more than $55 million to trucking companies involved in the lawsuit, with its total settlement costs reaching approximately $72 million, as CSNews Online previously reported.

This latest motion was filed in advance of a fairness hearing scheduled for Nov. 25 that could grant final approval to the proposed settlement, according to the report.

Pilot Flying J stated that "approximately 1 percent of the settlement class" has opted out of the deal. This consists of 59 "unique members," but the company noted that the figure includes around 150 individual accounts.

Pilot Flying J argued in a motion filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas that the proposed settlement is "fair, reasonable and adequate" and that "it is a near certainty" that the suing trucking companies "would not receive any greater benefits" than they would by accepting the settlement.