Boeing Co. said it reached a legal settlement with families of those killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max jet crash, admitting the company’s liability and agreeing to negotiate compensation payouts in a Chicago court.
The aircraft maker, which was sued by the families, “admits and stipulates to its liability for the compensatory damages,” and that “the measure and elements of plaintiffs’ damages” for each of the lawsuits filed in the Ethiopia Air case will be determined under Illinois law, according to the proposed agreement, which was filed Wednesday in a Chicago federal court.
While the agreement is a significant step toward ending the litigation, there’s still a long way to go because each family will be permitted to pursue their loss claims in mediation and, if talks fail, at a trial, said Robert A. Clifford, the lead counsel for cases brought by the families.
“The litigation against Boeing continues regarding the damages that are due to each victims’ family members,” Clifford said in a statement. “These are substantial undertakings, and the cases could easily continue for at least two more years.”
The Ethiopia crash killed 157 in March 2019, just months after another 737 Max jet crashed in Indonesia that killed 189 aboard a Lion Air flight. That led to a worldwide grounding of the Boeing-made planes and subsequent investigations revealed design flaws in the flight-control systems.
Each of the Ethiopian Air plaintiffs will make their own deal on damages with Boeing, and all the negotiations will be overseen by the same federal judge that has been shepherding settlements of suits filed in the Lion Air case, most of which have been resolved. The plaintiffs also won’t be permitted to seek punitive damages, according to the proposal.
In its filing Wednesday, Boeing said it will “not ascribe fault” to either the pilot or co-pilot of the Ethiopian Air jet. “The defendant, Boeing, has admitted it produced an airplane that had an unsafe condition that was a proximate cause of plaintiff’s compensatory damages caused by the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident,” according to the filing.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those lost on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302,” a Boeing spokesman said in an emailed statement. “Since the accidents, Boeing has made significant changes as a company, and to the design of the 737 MAX, to ensure that accidents like those never happen again.
The case is In re: Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 Crash, 19-cv-2170, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago)
(Updates with comment from statement from attorney for some victims.)
