Suit Filed By Pierce Bainbridge In Connection With The MAX 8 And MAX Series

AND... the legal feeding frenzy continues... 

The law firm of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP has filed a civil RICO and consumer fraud class action lawsuit against Southwest Airlines and Boeing on behalf of individuals who purchased tickets for air travel in the wake of the tragic Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes.

The lawsuit alleges that Boeing and Southwest worked together to conceal that the MAX 8 was defective and that this defect was likely to (and did) result in computer-induced crashes. Southwest sold tickets on its airline knowing about this defect, and both companies remained silent about problems with the aircraft while publicly touting its safety.

"People purchase tickets on airlines that fly safe planes," said Yavar Bathaee, the lead trial lawyer in the lawsuit. "A ticket to fly with an airline that lies to you is not a full fare ticket—in fact, it's probably worth zero."

As the complaint launching the lawsuit further alleges, the MAX 8 was defective from its inception. Its flight control system was designed without obviously necessary redundancies, and Boeing's flawed design relied on onerous, incompletely documented procedures that required pilots to rapidly disable entire systems on the aircraft to override a rogue flight computer.

The lawsuit alleges that the purpose of Boeing and Southwest's coverup of the problems was to preserve their decades-long collusive relationship, which, since a handshake deal between the CEOs in the late 90s, has meant that Southwest receives the lowest prices on new aircraft in exchange for flying only Boeing 737s and backstopping Boeing's business.

"The evidence here is really quite troubling. Southwest and Boeing worked together to deceive customers, regulators, and their own employees," said Brian Dunne, another attorney on the case. "It's clear that both companies knew about the defects—doubly so after the first crash. There was simply no excuse to keep those planes in the air."

The class includes those who purchased a ticket for air travel between August 29, 2017 and March 13, 2019.

(Source: Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP news release)

FMI: www.max8classaction.com