Irish-based aircraft leasing company sues Boeing over 737 Max

An Irish-based aircraft leasing company that buys and leases planes is suing Boeing in the US to void contracts for almost two dozen 737 Max aircraft and to demand at least $185 million (€ 166 million) in damages, citing design flaws that led to two deadly crashes.

Timaero Ireland, based in Dublin, sued Boeing on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago, alleging fraud and breach of contract in deals it signed starting in 2014 for 22 of the jets. The company said it relied on Boeing's assurances that the planes were safe and would be delivered on time.

After crashes of 737 Max planes flown by Lion Air in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019 killed a combined 346 people, the planes were grounded and a flaw in the flight-control sensors has been blamed, Timaero said.

Four jets

As of Tuesday, Boeing was supposed to have delivered four of the 737 Max jets to Timaero, but has delivered only two, the leasing company said. Boeing has refused to refund Timaero’s advance payments on the planes, according to the lawsuit.