BOEING TO OFFER SETTLEMENTS IN ETHIOPIAN AIR CASES
December 13, 2023
On November 28, 2023, an Illinois federal judge gave Boeing one week to offer settlements in the 46 remaining lawsuits over a 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash which tragically killed 157 people. Notwithstanding this instruction, the judge also agreed to wait to set more trials at Boeing’s request “for a chance to negotiate without a trial date lurking in the shadows.” Boeing is alleged to have “shortcut safety in pursuit of profits as it rushed the design and development of the 737 Max and a unique automated feature that affected the jet’s flight handling and controls, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.” The court has taken a “bellwether-style process” in this litigation. Under this process, the parties test a select number of cases in a trial format to evaluate the value of the broader litigation for settlement purposes. So far, each of the three batches of test cases have resulted in settlements prior to trial. Boeing has already accepted liability for the crash in exchange for waiving punitive damages, allowing the families of the deceased to “collect compensatory damages under Illinois law, by claiming loss of economic support, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and emotional distress, among other things.” Despite differences in their evaluations of the tactics employed by the other side, both parties remain confident in the mediator, Judge O’Connell, as the litigation continues.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202-659-6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; Jay Julien at 202.659.6648 or jjulien@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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