Attorney General Dave Yost is suing Boeing’s board of directors on behalf of two Ohio pension funds, seeking accountability for a pattern of safety and compliance failures that have harmed the company and its investors.
“The safety failures at Boeing are endangering lives and threatening the financial security of shareholders,” Yost said. “Running a safe, respectable company starts with the people at the top – and it’s time for them to be held accountable.”
Yost’s office – representing the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio – accuses Boeing board members of breaching their fiduciary duties by failing to properly oversee the company.
The lawsuit asserts that board members and senior management, including former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, failed to implement adequate safety measures or to address whistleblower concerns about the company’s production processes.
Boeing’s safety and compliance failures culminated in a near catastrophe involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft earlier this year. An Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing on Jan. 5 after a panel of the aircraft blew off shortly after takeoff.
The lawsuit contends that board members and senior management know about the ongoing unsafe practices but even today fail to address them, choosing instead to prioritize profits over safety and regulatory compliance.
“The failure of Boeing’s directors and officers to implement and oversee Boeing’s safety and compliance functions in good faith led to incalculable damage to Boeing’s relationships with its regulators, customers, lenders, potential employees, and the flying public,” the lawsuit says.
Yost is seeking to compel Boeing’s board of directors to improve safety and oversight of the company. The lawsuit is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
