As a time when things are going very well for Jimmy Haslam’s football team, he continues to be embroiled in a high-stakes battle regarding the value of Pilot Corporation, which his family has sold to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
A trial regarding the proper valuation of the final 20 percent of the company begins on January 8. For now, Berkshire wants to reopen Haslam’s deposition as to the question of whether he offered payments to Pilot executives in exchange for driving up the value of the company — and, in turn, driving up the value of the remaining 20 percent. Berkshire has claimed that, in Haslam’s initial deposition, he admitted to making such an offer.
On Thursday, Pilot and Haslam filed paperwork opposing the effort to compel Haslam to provide additional testimony. The paperwork calls the allegation of bribes a “fantastic theory,” with no evidence to support it.
Pilot and Haslam claim that the only proof of an alleged bribe comes from the assertions of Berkshire’s lawyers, with no actual proof.
Pilot lawyers have said that federal prosecutors are investigating the allegation that Haslam offered payments to Pilot executives. Again, Pilot and Haslam strongly deny the contention, and they contend that there is absolutely no proof that it happened.