From 32,000 to 2 undercharge cases. (P-I-E nationwide Inc.)

Two suits filed by P-I-E may help court rule on thousands.

The battle between defunct motor carrier P-I-E Nationwide Inc. and thousands of shippers socked with undercharge claims lurched forward through the courts again.

U.S. District Court Judge John H. Moore in Jacksonville has adopted a proposal to take a "lead case approach" to expedite two of the key issues affecting the lion's share of 32,000 suits before the District Court.

P-I-E Nationwide's bankruptcy trustee, Lloyd T. Whitaker, has rung up an estimated $1.6 billion in claimed undercharges since June 1991, and has created a logjam in the district's bankruptcy court.

The lead case approach, …