Pilot Flying J Settles With Three Trucking Cos.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Pilot Flying J reached agreements to settle lawsuits with three trucking companies. The legal action stems from discrepancies in Pilot Flying J's fuel rebate program.

Attorneys for National Retail Transportation, Keystone Freight and Shoreline Transportation of Alabama notified U.S. District Court Judge Amul R. Thapar of the settlement agreement in documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, according to Cleveland news station News Net 5.

In addition, attorneys for the trucking companies notified the court that they are finalizing settlement papers that will be exchanged by the parties.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed. Thapar ordered that "if the parties cannot consummate the settlement by Friday, April 10, 2015, then any party may move to restore the case to the court's calendar," the news station reported.

The news leaves four trucking companies in a consolidated civil lawsuit in federal court alleging Pilot Flying J cheated them of fuel rebates. The allegations arose from a federal raid of Pilot Flying J's Knoxville, Tenn.-based headquarters on April 15, 2013.

A federal criminal investigation continues almost two years later, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam has denied any knowledge of the fuel rebate fraud. In 2014, the retailer reached a deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office to avoid criminal charges against the company by paying a $92-million penalty over two years and cooperating with the investigation.

Pilot Flying J operates more than 650 retail locations and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.