An Indiana judge in December ordered trucking firm Indianapolis-based Celadon Group, Inc. to pay a total of $5.5 million after ruling that the company’s practice of paying its drivers back for fueling.
Celadon owner-operators use a charge card provided by the company to purchase fuel at a discount to the cash price, which Celadon later deducts from their pay. However, the company does not pay the same fuel price it charges back to its drivers. Instead, it reimburses them at an even lower price due to a bulk-purchase pact with the travel center operator.
Marion Superior Court Judge Michael D. Keele ruled that practice breaches the terms of its agreement with more than 2,000 drivers. The $5.5 million judgment covers $3.8 million that Celadon over-charged drivers for fuel purchases over a 10-year period and $1.7 million in pre-judgment interest.
The judgment proceeds are to be divided among two truckers acting as lead plaintiffs, the other affected truckers, and attorneys at Cohen & Malad LLP who brought the case in October of 2013.
Source: http://www.ibj.com/articles/51158-truckers-celadon-feuding-over-fuel
