A Southwest Airlines Pilots Association lawsuit against Boeing has been further weakened by the Texas Business Court. The association may no longer seek indirect financial losses, but only damages directly caused by Boeing’s actions.
Last year, the Supreme Court of Texas had narrowed the suit when ruling the association could not assert claims on its members’ behalf.
Background
Boeing introduced the 737 MAX model of jetliners in 2011, marketing the new plane as being more fuel efficient than previous 737 models but similar enough that pilots could fly it without additional training. Delivery of the new planes began in 2017.
However, two MAX planes crashed within months of each other. The first crashed in October 2018 in Indonesia, and the second crashed in March 2019 in Ethiopia. All 346 people on the planes were killed.
Both crashes were reportedly caused by a new flight-stabilizing feature that accounts for the MAX’s larger engine, which sits farther forward on the wing than previous models. Pilots had not been trained on this feature.
Just before the two crashes, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) had agreed to fly the MAX aircraft Southwest had recently purchased. The decision was reportedly based upon Boeing’s assertions that no further training was required. SWAPA represents roughly 11,000 Southwest pilots.
Following the second crash, the FAA grounded the MAX. Southwest was forced to cancel hundreds of flights, and SWAPA pilots were reportedly left without planes to fly.
Litigation
This prompted SWAPA to sue Boeing, asserting that “Boeing interfered with SWAPA’s business relationship with Southwest and fraudulently induced the pilots to agree to fly the MAX.”
SWAPA specifically alleged fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference, negligence, and fraud by nondisclosure.
As previously reported, the Supreme Court of Texas affirmed that SWAPA cannot assert claims on its members’ behalf. The case was therefore remanded for further proceedings only on the claims asserted by SWAPA on its own behalf.
The suit was originally filed in the 160th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, but was later removed to Judge Andrea Bouressa’s Texas Business Court, First Division.
Boeing sought to have all of SWAPA’s claims dismissed, arguing that the association cannot establish the essential element of proximate causation. This is the legal doctrine that an event must be sufficiently related to an injury or damage for the law to hold someone legally responsible.
SWAPA agreed that proximate causation was a necessary element of its claims, but contended that it had satisfied the standard.
The Ruling
On September 28, Judge Bouressa released her decision, agreeing with Boeing that SWAPA had not established proximate cause. However, she came to a different conclusion than either of the parties in regard to whether the standard needed to be satisfied for the suit to continue.
“The parties are correct that proximate cause is an essential element for each of SWAPA’s claims. But that causation standard applies only to consequential damages,” wrote Bouressa. “Proximate cause is not the requisite standard for direct damages.”
Because Boeing’s motion only challenged proximate cause, Bouressa only struck down SWAPA’s requested consequential damages. SWAPA’s pleaded direct damages are allowed to proceed, meaning the suit will not be dismissed in its entirety.
The consequential damages sought by SWAPA included damages based on flights its pilots would have piloted if not for the grounding of the fleet, dues it would have received, and fees it incurred in connection with the costly federal investigations.
“To the extent SWAPA seeks direct damages for representations or omissions made by Boeing to SWAPA and its Members which induced it to enter into a disadvantageous collective bargaining agreement with Southwest, SWAPA’s claims for those damages remain pending before the Court,” Bouressa concluded.
SWAPA’s suit remains alive despite having been narrowed for a second time.
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