Judge Rebukes Boeing Plea Deal Over DEI Policy

Boeing’s plea deal with the DOJ, involving a $243 million fine over two 737 MAX crashes, has been rejected by a federal judge. The crashes killed 346 people. Judge Reed O’Connor rejected the deal, citing concerns over DEI policies in selecting an independent compliance monitor. Attorney Paul Cassell said, “Judge O’Connor has recognized that this was a cozy deal between the Government and Boeing that failed to focus on the overriding concerns – holding Boeing accountable for its deadly crime and ensuring that nothing like this happens again in the future.” Join us in this slideshow as we review the legal dispute in greater detail.

Cassell added, “This order should lead to a significant renegotiation of the plea deal to reflect the 346 deaths Boeing criminally caused and put in place proper monitoring of Boeing to ensure that it never again commits a crime like this in the future.”

Lawyer Erin Applebaum said, “This is an excellent decision by Judge O’Connor and a significant victory for the victims’ families. We anticipate a significant renegotiation of the plea deal that incorporates terms truly commensurate with the gravity of Boeing’s crimes. It’s time for the DOJ to end its lenient treatment of Boeing and demand real accountability.”

Michael Stumo and Nadia Milleron, who lost their daughter Samya in a 2019 crash, urged people to avoid flying on Boeing planes. They claimed the company prioritizes profits over safety, citing ongoing manufacturing defects and recent incidents involving Boeing aircraft.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said, “Boeing is accountable for what happened. Whatever the specific cause of the accident might turn out to be, an event like this simply must not happen on an airplane that leaves one of our factories. We simply must be better. Our customers deserve better.”

Samya was one of 157 victims in the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which occurred months after a Lion Air crash killed 189 people. Stumo stated, “That first crash shouldn’t have happened. It was a design flaw and manufacturing flaw in the aircraft. David Calhoun lied about safety of the plane then. Then the crash in Ethiopia happened in March 2019, and they still lied about how safe the aircraft was.”

Stumo added, “The Securities Exchange Commission found they lied. The Department of Justice said they lied. They said it was safe, and they checked it out as safe. A judge in Delaware found they lied. And now we know that they have had many manufacturing defects in these infamous Boeing Max aircraft.”

The judge criticized the exclusion of court oversight in the monitor’s selection, calling it a failure to promote respect for the law and public trust in Boeing’s probation. O’Connor wrote, “In a case of this magnitude, it is in the utmost interest of justice that the public is confident this monitor selection is done based solely on competency.”

O’Connor said, “The parties’ DEI efforts only serve to undermine this confidence in the Government and Boeing’s ethics and anti-fraud efforts. Accordingly, the diversity-and-inclusion provision renders the plea agreement against the public interest.”

O’Connor concluded, “It is fair to say that the Government’s attempt to ensure compliance has failed. At this point, the public interest requires the Court to step in. Marginalizing the Court in the selection and monitoring of the independent monitor as the plea agreement does undermines public confidence in Boeing’s probation, fails to promote respect for the law, and is therefore not in the public interest.”