Commercial plane manufacture Boeing is now facing new suits worth Ksh100 billion filed by Ribbeck Law Chartered and Global Aviation Law Group in U.S. federal court in Chicago.
Ribbeck Law Chartered stated it has filed 40 cases against the Boeing Company in Federal Court in Chicago for the recent Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashes so far, which claimed the lives of 32 Kenyans.
“We have added an additional case for a passenger from Kenya who died in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash. Our clients are seeking more than a billion US dollars (Ksh100 billion) for their damages. Next week we will file and additional case for a family from Egypt. Ribbeck Law Chartered and Global Aviation Law Group represent 66 families of both crashes, the majority of the passengers and cabin crew members affected by Boeing 737 Max 8 disasters and as we prepare the complaints, we will continue to file additional lawsuits to seek justice for our clients in the courts of the United States of America,” said Manuel von Ribbeck of Ribbeck Law Chartered.
It has been five months since the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash, with families of the affected persons locked in a legal tussle with Boeing.
“The families of the victims have not received a final report from the government’s official investigators and do not have access to the plane’s wreckage or design and manufacturing documents. The most effective way to have the evidence protected and released to us it is by bringing these cases to court in Chicago against Boeing,” said Monica Kelly of Ribbeck Law Chartered.
If not settlement is reached soon, the two firms are planning to petition the court that the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines cases be consolidated to avoid contradicting orders from two different judges.
The two cases are set for status hearings in September, 2019.
According to Mr Botha of Global Aviation Law Group, Boeing rushed this model (737 Max 8) into the market in order to keep up with its competitor, Airbus.
Read: Boeing Reduces Production Of 737 Max Aircraft, Apologizes To Families Of Accident Victims
“Despite of the establishment of a fund, Boeing has not given any economic assistance to the families yet. Boeing allowed additional planes in the air which subsequently caused another crash. Boeing’s actions in these matters show that it cares more about profits than saving lives,” said Botha.
Global Aviation Law Group representatives in Nairobi, Attorney David Njoroge of Igeria & Ngugi Advocates, says that Boeing’s intentional conduct not grounding the 737 Max 8 aircraft after the first crash is a crime, murder.
“We will seek that the authorities in Kenya and Ethiopia and some of the multiple countries that lost their citizens file criminal cases against Boeing’s CEO, its board of directors and anyone involved in the decision making of this company. The Boeing Company’s conduct is beyond outrageous, it is criminal,” says the Nairobi based law firm.
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