Boeing Sorts Out US Legal Battle Over 2019 Ethiopia Plunge with Settlement
- Boeing Links U.S. Civil Case to 2019 Ethiopia Aircraft Crash Through Comparison
Caught up in a drawn-out legal tussle, two families reached a settlement out of court, which would've marked the inaugural US trial regarding the fateful air crash. The aircraft in question was a Boeing 737 MAX, which met its demise shortly after lift-off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, on March 10, 2019. The grim list of casualties counted victims from 35 different nationalities, including five German citizens.
After the crash, a widespread standstill order was enforced upon the Boeing 737 MAX. Scarcely four months earlier, in October 2018, a comparable Boeing aircraft plummeted near the Indonesian island of Java, claiming the lives of all 189 on board. The lifting of this emergency measure towards the end of 2020 was a step out of the crisis for Boeing.
Three hundred fifty relatives of the victims filed lawsuits against the aeronautics manufacturer from April 2019 up until March 2021, citing wrongful death, negligence, and others misdemeanors. Most of these cases were already settled beyond the courtroom.
As of late March, there were said to be 18 civil suits remaining that stemmed from the Ethiopia crash. Since then, it's reported that at least four of these suits have been settled outside of court, according to sources from AFP. The specifics of these agreements between the US company and the families of the crash victims have been shrouded in secrecy.
In April 2019, Boeing conceded to problems within a stabilization software on the 737 MAX. In the wake of the twin crashes, the company updated the software.
- Boeing
- Plunge
- Ethiopia
- Legal battle
- USA
- Settlement
- Canada
- Germany
Additional Insights:
- The settlements were finalized hours before jury selection was scheduled to commence on April 7, 2025, thereby evading a trial anticipated to last for two weeks in Chicago federal court.
- The specifics of the settlements have been kept under wraps and haven't been disclosed.
- The legal team representing the case for Paul Belanger, a Canadian resident, was led by Mark Lindquist, alongside Austin Bartlett and Robert Clifford from Chicago. Antonio M. Romanucci of Romanucci & Blandin took the helm for the legal defense of Michael Lewis.
- Paul Belanger, a 46-year-old director of professional development at PCL Construction, left behind his spouse and two parents. He was traveling to speak at a United Nations Environmental Assembly in Kenya.
- Michael Lewis, a 39-year-old U.S. Army Captain, was ON military leave pursuing commercial prospects in Africa. He was just shy of becoming eligible for his full pension, having almost completed 20 years of military service. He was survived by his wife, Yalena Lopez Lewis, and their two sons.
- There are still 18 lawsuits pending for other victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, with the subsequent trial slated for July 2025.
- Boeing is also facing a criminal trial instigated by the Department of Justice, set to start in June 2025, related to allegations of deceiving regulators concerning the 737 MAX jetliner prior to the crashes.
- The legal battle between Boeing and the bereaved families of the victims concerning the Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia in 2019 was settled out of court in April 2025, evading a trial that was expected to last two weeks in Chicago federal court.
- Despite the settlements being finalized, the specifics of the agreements between Boeing and the families of the crash victims have remained shrouded in secrecy.
- Additionally, Boeing is still facing a criminal trial initiated by the Department of Justice, set to start in June 2025, related to allegations of deceiving regulators concerning the 737 MAX jetliner prior to the crashes.
