Boeing Asks Court to Dismiss LOT Polish Airlines’ 737 Max Lawsuit

Boeing 737 Max Polish Airlines Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: Boeing has asked a Washington federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by LOT Polish Airlines alleging it was duped into ordering Boeing’s defective 737 Max jets.
• Why: Boeing says LOT failed to show that Boeing’s statements about the aircraft were false or how LOT relied on the allegedly false statements.
• Where: The Boeing 737 Max lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.

The Boeing Company has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges Boeing duped Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT SA into ordering defective 737 Max jets.

Boeing argues that, unlike other lawsuits it faces from purchasers of 737 Max jets, LOT never actually purchased a 737 Max airplane. Instead, LOT leased the 737 Max jets from third parties that had purchased the airplanes directly from Boeing years earlier.

“In conjunction with each of those lease agreements, LOT received an assignment of limited rights–including an express warranty protecting against defects in the aircraft and repair and replacement procedures to correct potential defects,” Boeing argues in its motion to dismiss the 737 Max lawsuit. “But in filing this action, LOT ignores those express assignments.”

Boeing argues that by filing this 737 Max lawsuit, LOT is acting as if it had contracts directly with Boeing even though it does not and that it was injured by a scheme by Boeing to harm its business, which Boeing says is not “remotely plausible.”

LOT also allegedly points to statements Boeing made about the 737 Max as false, but Boeing contends that these statements were simply opinion and sales puffing.

LOT Blames Boeing for $250M in Losses Caused by Defective 737 Max Jets

The engines on the 737 Max are located further forward on aircraft wings than previous Boeing jets, causing it to have different aerodynamics. To compensate for this difference, Boeing implemented the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which turned out to be vulnerable to faulty sensor readings that could cause a plane to nosedive. These faulty sensor readings were found to have contributed to two high-profile airline crashes.

These crashes prompted an 18-month grounding of the 737 Max jets and multiple investigations into Boeing’s conduct with regard to the development of the plane.

LOT alleges that it lost revenue from canceled flights due to the grounding of the 737 Max in March 2019. All told, the airline says it has experienced $250 million in damages and filed the Boeing 737 Max lawsuit to seek compensation from Boeing for allegedly deceiving LOT into ordering defective jets.

Do you think Boeing should compensate LOT for damages related to the 737 Max jet? Let us know in the comments section!

LOT Polish Airlines is represented by Anthony U. Battista, Diana Gurfel Shapiro, Evan Kwarta, Mary Dow and Mirin Park of Condon & Forsyth LLP.

The Boeing 737 Max Polish Airlines Lawsuit is Polskie Linie Lotnicze Lot S.A. v. The Boeing Company, Case No. 2:21-cv-01449, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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