Boeing settles lawsuits with two 737 MAX crash victims' families

By David Shepardson

(Reuters) - U.S. planemaker Boeing Co reached settlements with the families of two people who died in the March 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX on the eve of a trial, the company and lawyers for the families said on Monday.

Terms of the settlements with the families of victims Antoine Lewis and Darcy Belanger were not released.

The trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago had been expected to be the first against the planemaker in two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that led to the bestselling plane's 20-month grounding and cost Boeing more than $20 billion.

Boeing agreed in 2021 to acknowledge liability for compensatory damages to the families of the 157 people killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. The families agreed not to seek punitive damages.

Lewis, 39, was a U.S. Army captain on military leave taking a trip to Africa to investigate opportunities to begin a logistics business, while Belanger, 46, of Denver, Colorado, was flying to a United Nations Environmental Assembly where he was scheduled to speak.

Boeing reiterated its apologies for the crashes Monday, saying it "made an upfront commitment to fully and fairly compensate the families and accepted legal responsibility for the accidents. We will continue to work to fairly resolve the claims of the family members."

The planemaker said it has settled more than 90% of claims from the two 737 MAX accidents and paid billions of dollars in compensation to the families through lawsuits, a deferred prosecution agreement and other payments.

There are two other trials set for July and November.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said last week the planemaker is in discussions with the Justice Department to reach a revised plea agreement in a criminal fraud case stemming from the planemaker's alleged misrepresentations to regulators about a key safety system on the 737 MAX.

Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of up to $487.2 million. A judge set a June 23 trial date if no final agreement is reached.

Relatives of the crash victims have called the plea agreement a "sweetheart" deal that failed to adequately hold Boeing accountable.

The Justice Department found in May that Boeing had violated a 2021 agreement that had shielded it from prosecution over the crashes. Prosecutors then decided to criminally charge Boeing and negotiate the current plea deal.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman)