The filing asks for the class-action settlement to be stamped for final approval by the court, as, in addition to the 1 percent opt-out rate, no members of the class filed an objection with the court, according to Pilot’s request, which calls the settlement “fair, adequate and reasonable for the class” — the criteria the court set for approving the settlement.
The company submitted a petition earlier this moth seeking approval of the settlement’s figures — a $72 million deal that would award $55 million to trucking companies for money owed in unpaid fuel rebates, $4.1 million in interest on that money owed, $3.5 million for auditing costs and up to $14 million for attorney’s fees, though that number could be smaller in the end, Pilot says.
The request for final approval, like the petition for preliminary approval, says that 59 companies have opted out, meaning that nearly 6,000 trucking companies were included in the class-action settlement and presumably had fuel rebates withheld by Pilot.
Pilot reached the settlement in the District Court in Arkansas in July, and a group of other lawsuits was shortly thereafter deferred to the Arkansas settlement.
A fairness hearing to decide the fate of the settlement is set for Monday, Nov. 25.
