LOT Polish Airlines (LO, Warsaw Chopin) has petitioned the Texas Northern District Court to be recognised as a crime victim in the B737 MAX criminal case, similar to the persons who died in two crashes of the type in October 2018 and March 2019, Reuters has reported.
The Polish flag carrier argues that because of the losses it suffered due to the type's grounding between March 2019 and early 2021, it deserves to be treated the same way as the 346 passengers and crew who died in the two crashes. The airline estimates it lost USD250 million due to the grounding of the five B737-8s it leased at the time of the grounding.
If LOT is recognised as a victim, it could be included in ongoing proceedings about additional compensation. The Polish carrier has separately sued Boeing in a court in Seattle for damages after it rejected the manufacturer's settlement offer as too low. It is arguably the most publicly contentious dispute over B737 MAX compensation in the industry.
Judge O'Connor ruled in late October that those who died in the two crashes were victims as per the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA). As such, the deferred prosecution agreement that the United States Department of Justice reached with Boeing violated victims' rights, as the CVRA requires parties to consult with said victims during settlement negotiations. While the manufacturer agreed to pay USD500 million to the victims' families in the DPA, the settlement deferred and potentially voided any future criminal prosecution. The new ruling paves the way for new remedies, which could include further criminal proceedings.
