As for the breach of contract counts, the judge said the families had failed to identify what contractual language was violated, or whether the Marines themselves—not the U.S. military as an institution—were intended beneficiaries of those agreements.
Negligent Concealment Moves Forward
But in a critical blow to the defendants, Judge Cheeks allowed negligent misrepresentation and concealment claims to move forward. He noted the pleading standards are less strict than for fraud and that the families had sufficiently alleged that the companies made false representations without a reasonable basis—representations on which the Marines relied to their detriment.
The court also found that allegations tied to omissions—namely, that the Osprey’s known defects posed “an unreasonable risk to personal safety”—were adequately pleaded to survive dismissal.
Deadly Crash Under Scrutiny
The lawsuit, filed in May 2024, alleges that the fatal crash was caused by a “hard clutch engagement” in one engine that cascaded into the other due to the V-22’s interconnected drive systems, ultimately cutting off power and dooming the aircraft.
