Boeing trying to withhold evidence in 737 Max Ethiopian cases, lawyer says - Business Insider

Boeing is using a "scorched earth" strategy to try and keep evidence away from lawyers representing the victims of one of the fatal 737 Max crashes, one of the lawyers said.Steven Marks, an aviation lawyer with Miami-based firm Podhurst Orseck, said Boeing has hardened its approach when dealing with the legal fallout of the second of the two crashes, which happened in Ethiopia in 2019.Boeing is currently seeking to settle cases brought by the families of those killed when the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed into the ground with 157 people on board.It has largely settled cases from the earlier October 2018 crash of a 737 Max operated by Indonesia's Lion Air, where 189 people died. He called Boeing's approach in the Ethiopian Airlines "the complete polar opposite of what happened in Lion Air."In the Ethiopian Airlines cases, he said, "Boeing took a very different scorched earth approach."In a statement to Business Insider, Boeing defended its approach and argued that it had taken its obligations to provide evidence "seriously." A spokesman said the company had turned over close to 2 million pages so far.Marks represents seven of the families in that crash, none of which have been settled. Marks said that Boeing had also refused to make documents available that it had given to Congress to help lawmakers' investigations of crashes.In a statement to Business Insider, Boeing spokesman Bradley Akuburio said that Boeing is taking providing evidence "seriously" and that it will continue working with the lawyers."We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all those onboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302," he said."We are committed to continuing to engage with the families in an effort to resolve their claims.