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On July 11, 2019, a complaint alleging violations of federal and state laws and seeking certification as a class action was filed against Boeing and the Company in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman.
−Removed: The complaint alleges that Boeing and the Company colluded to conceal defects with the MAX aircraft in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act ("RICO") and also asserts related state law claims based upon the same alleged facts.
+Added: The complaint alleges that Boeing and the Company colluded to conceal defects with the Boeing 737 MAX ("MAX") aircraft in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act ("RICO") and also asserts related state law claims based upon the same alleged facts.
The complaint seeks damages on behalf of putative classes of customers who purchased tickets for air travel from either the Company or American Airlines between August 29, 2017, and March 13, 2019.
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(i) dismissed without prejudice various state law claims that the plaintiffs abandoned in response to the motions, (ii) dismissed with prejudice the remaining state law claims, including fraud by concealment, fraud by misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation on the grounds that federal law preempts those claims, and (iii) found that plaintiffs lack Article III standing to pursue one of the plaintiffs’ theories of RICO injury.
−Removed: The order denied the motion to dismiss with respect to two RICO claims premised upon a second
−Removed: theory of RICO injury and denied the motion to strike the class allegations at the pleadings stage.
+Added: The order denied the motion to dismiss with respect to two RICO claims premised upon a second theory of RICO injury and denied the motion to strike the class allegations at the pleadings
Discovery is ongoing, class certification briefing has been completed, and a class certification hearing was held before the court on April 26, 2021.
−Removed: The Company denies all allegations of wrongdoing, including those in the complaint that were not dismissed.
−Removed: The Company believes the plaintiffs' positions are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself.
+Added: On September 3, 2021, the trial court issued an order under Rule 23(a) and 23(b)(3) certifying four classes of persons associated with ticket purchases for flights during the period of August 29, 2017, through March 13, 2019, comprised of (i) those who purchased tickets (without being reimbursed) for flights on Southwest Airlines during the class period, except for those whose flights were solely on routes where, at the time of the ticket purchase(s), a MAX plane was not scheduled for use (or actually used) and had not previously been used, (ii) those who reimbursed a Southwest Airlines ticket purchaser and thus bore the economic burden for a Southwest Airlines ticket for a flight meeting the preceding criteria set forth in (i) above, (iii) those who purchased tickets (without being reimbursed) for flights on American Airlines during the class period, except for those whose flights were solely on routes where, at the time of ticket purchase(s), a MAX plane was not scheduled for use (or actually used) and had not previously been used, and (iv) those who reimbursed an American Airlines ticket purchaser and thus bore the economic burden for an American Airlines ticket for a flight meeting the preceding criteria set forth in (iii) above.
+Added: On September 17, 2021, the Company filed a petition for permission immediately to appeal the class certification ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
+Added: Boeing also filed such a petition.
+Added: Plaintiffs filed their oppositions to the petitions on September 27, 2021.
+Added: On or about October 6, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Company (and Boeing) permission to appeal the class certification ruling.
+Added: A briefing schedule has yet to be set by the Fifth Circuit.
+Added: The Company (and Boeing) have filed motions to stay all trial court proceedings pending an appeal ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
+Added: The Company intends to strenuously pursue that appeal.
+Added: The Company further denies all allegations of wrongdoing, including those in the complaint that were not dismissed.
+Added: The Company believes the plaintiffs' positions are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself in all respects.
On February 19, 2020, a complaint alleging violations of federal securities laws and seeking certification as a class action was filed against the Company and certain of its officers in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.
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The lawsuit is in its early stages, and the Board and Company deny all allegations of wrongdoing.
+Added: On August 26, 2021, a complaint alleging breach of contract and seeking certification as a class action was filed against the Company in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco.
+Added: The complaint alleges that the Company breached its Contract of Carriage and other alleged agreements in connection with Southwest’s use of the allegedly defective 737 MAX aircraft manufactured by The Boeing Company.
+Added: The complaint seeks damages on behalf of putative classes of customers who provided valuable consideration, whether in money or other form (e.g., voucher, miles/points, etc.), in exchange for a ticket for air transportation with the Company, which transportation took place between August 29, 2017, and March 13, 2019.
+Added: The complaint generally seeks money damages, declaratory relief, and attorneys’ fees and other costs.
+Added: The Company’s deadline to respond to
+Added: the Complaint is October 27, 2021.
+Added: The Company denies all allegations of wrongdoing and believes the plaintiffs' positions are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself in all respects.
The Company is from time to time subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business, including, but not limited to, examinations by the IRS.
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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.