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.
