Jessy Edwards  |  October 8, 2021

Category: Legal News

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A Southwest Airlines plane in flight - Boeing, Southwest, Southwest 737 RICO Class Action Lawsuit
(Photo Credit: Carlos Yudica/Shutterstock)

Boeing, Southwest 737 RICO Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

  • Who: Southwest Airlines and Boeing are being sued over alleged false claims about jetliners.
  • What: A group of airline passengers claim Boeing and Southwest Airlines conspired to mislead customers into believing that Boeing 737 Max jets were safer than they are.
  • Where: The lawsuit was filed by a nationwide class of passengers and is playing out in federal court in Texas.

Boeing and Southwest Airlines are asking a judge to put litigation on hold in a class action case accusing the pair of conspiring to mislead customers into believing that Boeing 737 Max jets were safer than they are.

The Boeing Co. and Southwest Airlines Co. filed a joint motion Oct. 5 to stay the case — brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) — while they seek to appeal certification of the class action with the 5th Circuit.

The class action lawsuit representing thousands of airline passengers who bought plane tickets on jets they say had a “fatal design defect” was certified in September.

The certified classes are a group of customers who bought Southwest Airlines tickets, and another class that bought American Airlines tickets from Aug. 29, 2017, to March 13, 2019, whose flights were scheduled on Max 8 aircrafts. The decision opened a path to trial over potential damages for thousands of travelers. 

However, the airlines motion to stay argues that serious legal questions remain over the classes standing to sue. They say the 5th Circuit needs to resolve these issues before moving forward, so that time and money is not wasted in discovery.

“Here, defendants will be irreparably harmed without a stay because they have no mechanism to recoup the enormous pretrial costs flowing from classes that include millions of plaintiffs and require a large volume of discovery in this case,” Boeing and Southwest said. 

“The additional discovery plaintiffs contemplate — and have already initiated — is likely to generate voluminous motions practice that will not only cause irreparable harm to defendants, but waste the court’s time as well — particularly if the Fifth Circuit holds that no classes or only substantially reduced classes can be certified,” the airlines claim.

Class Action Claims the Boeing, Southwest 737 has a ‘Fatal Design Defect’

In the 2019 complaint, ​a group of airline passengers claimed Boeing and Southwest Airlines conspired to mislead customers into believing Boeing 737 Max jets were safer than they are, claiming there’s a “fatal design defect” in the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. 

Allegedly, the planes had sensors that triggered the automated flight control feature that brings the plane’s nose down if the angle of the sensors is too high.

This defect has reportedly been linked to two Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes — the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash that killed 157 people on March 10, 2019, and the Lion Air Flight 610 crash that killed 189 people in October 2018. The Max 8 jets were grounded globally for more than 20 months before getting cleared to fly again in late 2020. 

The plaintiffs are suing under RICO and have also filed claims for fraud by concealment, fraud by misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and negligence.

The plaintiffs allege that if they had known the MAX 8 was fatally defective, they would never have purchased tickets — so they want their money back.

Second, they say the defendants’ fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions allowed Southwest to overcharge plaintiffs for their tickets. They’re seeking damages in a jury trial.

Did you purchase tickets from Southwest and feel you were overcharged? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Yavar Bathaee, David H. Hecht, Andrew J. Lorin, Michael M. Pomerantz, Barron M. Flood and Brian J. Dunne of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP.

The Southwest Boeing 737 Defect Collusion Class Action Lawsuit is Earl, et al. v. The Boeing Co., et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-00507, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.


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10 thoughts onBoeing, Southwest Ask Judge to Halt 737 RICO Class Action Lawsuit

  1. REBA TILLMAN-HUFF says:

    Add me please. Southwest Airlines is the airlines that I fly frequently.

  2. Phoebe Riddley says:

    Please add me

  3. Marlon Romero says:

    Add me

  4. Angelica Romero says:

    Please add me. I’m in California.

  5. No Class Corps says:

    U.S. Corps complain about lawsuits but they should thank their lucky stars the execs don’t get charged with crimes and thrown in jail like in other countries.

  6. Daniel Gregory says:

    Add me

  7. Lisa S. says:

    Please add me.

  8. Heather says:

    Add me

  9. Agnes says:

    Add me please

  10. Renae says:

    Add me please

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