FOLLOW US

Boeing Co. has asked a Washington federal judge to reject LOT Polish Airlines’ sweeping motion to admit hundreds of documents in their high-stakes contract lawsuit over Boeing 737 Max leases, warning that the request would splinter the trial into what it called “sideshow mini-trials” and bury jurors under irrelevant evidence.

In a filing Wednesday, Boeing said LOT’s effort to introduce more than 1,400 exhibits—ranging from government reports and criminal proceedings to foreign investigations and congressional transcripts—would derail the trial from its central issues: what Boeing knew and disclosed during the 2016 lease negotiations.

LOT’s lawsuit, filed in October 2021, seeks over $200 million in damages on claims of fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of implied warranty related to the 737 Max jets.

Dispute Over Relevance and Timing

Boeing argued LOT’s evidence requests are overly broad and ill-timed. Among the documents are:

• 115 pages from unrelated criminal proceedings

• 650 pages from foreign investigations

• 100 pages of congressional transcripts

• 300 documents and 13 hours of depositions from other lawsuits

Boeing said LOT failed to identify which specific parts it wants to rely on, instead demanding wholesale admission.

The company also attacked LOT’s bid to exclude Boeing’s experts, noting the deadline for such objections expired months ago. Boeing further pushed back on LOT’s attempt to bar any sealing of trial documents, calling the request premature since no sealing motions have yet been filed.

The Shadow of Tragedy

The case unfolds against the backdrop of the 737 Max’s two fatal crashes in Indonesia (2018) and Ethiopia (2019), which killed 346 people and led to the jet’s worldwide grounding.

LOT has pointed to Boeing’s “admissions” regarding the accidents, but Boeing told the court such evidence is irrelevant and would confuse jurors. The lease talks with LOT occurred two years before the crashes, Boeing stressed, and it has already acknowledged both accidents and the subsequent grounding.

The company also asked the court to block 654 pages of crash investigation reports from Indonesian and Ethiopian authorities, along with U.S. government reports it branded as “inadmissible hearsay.” Boeing warned that congressional hearings and reports lacked evidentiary safeguards, relied on news clippings, and had no bearing on LOT’s lease claims.

Boeing Seeks Limits on Evidence

Boeing’s filing opposed LOT’s move to admit settlement documents, executive testimony, and evidence from unrelated lawsuits, arguing such material would unfairly prejudice the jury.

It further objected to LOT’s request to authenticate all documents produced in the case, noting Boeing is contesting the authenticity of roughly 1,400 exhibits on LOT’s list.

While Boeing said it does not object to LOT’s right to organize its evidence presentation, it called the request procedurally improper ahead of a scheduled pretrial conference.