US judge orders Boeing to defend fraud charges in court

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A federal judge has set a trial date for Boeing, potentially forcing the company to defend itself in court against a criminal charge relating to two fatal 737 Max crashes.

The decision by Reed O’Connor, a US district judge in Texas, to set a trial date marks a victory for families of people who died after two Boeing planes crashed and called for the company to answer for the accidents in court.

The judge’s intervention also marks another twist in a legal saga that has dogged the manufacturer since the flawed design in its planes caused the crashes, which killed hundreds of people.

O’Connor set June 23 as the start date to try Boeing on a single felony count of fraud. The company pleaded guilty in July, but the judge threw out the plea in December after objecting to provisions tied to diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as the deal’s power to “erroneously marginalise” the court’s own authority in selecting an independent monitor to oversee Boeing. 

Boeing and the US justice department were negotiating new terms but had until April 11 to update the court on their progress. O’Connor’s decision to set a date comes a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Boeing was attempting to withdraw its guilty plea.

Boeing said it was continuing to engage in “good faith” discussions with the Department of Justice “regarding an appropriate resolution of this matter”. 

The DoJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the trial date.

The criminal charge stems from crashes of the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019 that killed a combined 346 people and prompted regulators worldwide to ground the jet for nearly two years. The company misled regulators at the US Federal Aviation Administration about the jet’s flight control system

Boeing paid $2.5bn in 2021 to defer prosecution on a single count of fraud — a deferral that collapsed when prosecutors decided to bring a case after a door panel blew off a Boeing jet during a commercial flight in January 2024.

Though the company pleaded guilty in July, families of the victims of the crashes objected to the deal, saying it was too generous.

Erin Applebaum, one of the lawyers representing the families in the second crash, said they deserved their day in court.

“For six years, the families of Boeing’s victims have waited for the justice system to hold Boeing accountable,” she said. “Judge O’Connor has now set a trial date, with Boeing’s ongoing refusal to change its behaviour appearing to have been the final straw. We urge the Department of Justice to stand on the right side of history, reject any further plea negotiations, and move forward with a full prosecution.”