KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Defendants in the federal case against former executives at the truck stop chain owned by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam want more time to decide whether they want to strike plea agreements.
The eight former Pilot Flying J employees in a Knoxville federal court filing on Monday asked to push back the deadline by a month to July 21, arguing the current schedule would only give them one week to decide about pleas after the cutoff date for prosecutors to provide documents they intend to introduce at trial.
Pilot has paid a $92 million federal penalty and spent $85 million on a class-action settlement with 5,500 trucking companies in connection with a scheme to cheat customers out of promised discounts and rebates.