Families of Boeing MAX8 Crash Victims Ask Federal Appellate Court to Overturn District Court Judge’s Order Dismissing Criminal Charge Against Boeing

A writ of mandamus was filed today (Thursday, November 13, 2025) by the families who lost loved ones in two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets who are asking a federal appeals court to reverse the recent decision of a federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, who last week dismissed the criminal conspiracy charge against Boeing for the crashes that killed 346 people seven years ago.

The families had argued before U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) non-prosecution agreement violated the judicial review provisions, which was reached behind closed doors without the families’ statutory right to confer. The writ of mandamus argues that no substantive proceedings before Judge O’Connor were held before he made his decision in favor of Boeing.

Family members traveled earlier this year from as far away as France, Ireland, and Canada to ask the judge to reject the DOJ’s secret agreement with Boeing not to prosecute the aircraft manufacturer for criminal fraud. Judge O’Connor decided on November 6, with the DOJ, much to the disappointment and distress of the families.

DOJ initially presented Judge O’Connor with a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) that he rejected. Instead of coming back with something more stringent, DOJ presented Boeing with the lesser punishment of an NPA in which Boeing would merely pay a $243.6 million penalty, give $444.5 million to be divided amongst the 346 families, and make additional investments in its safety and compliance. In exchange, the DOJ agreed to dismiss the criminal charge against Boeing. On November 6, Judge O’Connor approved this revised NPA and granted the government’s motion to dismiss. The families now look forward to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse this decision through its writ of mandamus.

In the writ, Paul Cassell, pro bono, attorneys for the families and professor of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, argued on behalf of the families’ that the government’s NPA with Boeing would not provide sufficient oversight of Boeing and failed to account for the fact that Boeing’s criminal behavior was found to have caused the deaths of 346 crash victims. Boeing’s CEO and its lawyers had admitted to the fraud in a guilty plea issued four years ago.

“Judge O’Connor recognized that there are, in his words, ‘compelling’ arguments against the non-prosecution deal. But he reluctantly concluded that he was powerless to do anything about the reprehensible deal. We believe that the courts don’t have to stand silently by while an injustice is perpetrated. We are asking the Fifth Circuit to reverse the district court’s decision and enforce the rights of the families. The charges against Boeing cannot simply be dropped,” Cassell said.

“Families of multiple Lion Air victims also oppose the order and support the immediate filing of a writ by Professor Cassell,” according to Sanjiv Singh, counsel for 16 families who had joined with Cassell’s group to fight the dismissal.

Filippo Marchino of The X-Law Group, representing the family of Andrea Manfredi, who died in the first Boeing 737 MAX crash, condemned the government’s actions, which led to the district court’s decision, as a betrayal of the most fundamental principles of justice.  Marchino said, “The Court was essentially forced to tell 346 families that their loved ones’ lives are worth less than Boeing’s convenience. The Judge recognized that this deal fails the public interest test, that Boeing cannot be trusted, yet, as a result of postural issues, approved it anyway. This is not judicial restraint—it’s judicial abandonment secondary to a DoJ that is unwilling to do what it ought to. The Manfredi family lost their son, their brother, their everything, to Boeing’s admitted criminal fraud. They deserve their day in court, not another backroom deal that treats mass death as a cost of doing business. We stand united with all families in this appeal because if corporations can kill 346 people and avoid trial by writing a check, then we no longer live in a nation of laws—we live in a corporate oligarchy where human life is just another line item on a balance sheet. The Fifth Circuit must reverse this travesty.”

Catherine Berhet of France, who lost her 28-year-old daughter Camille in the second crash, said, “How can I not scream with anger when reading Judge O’Connor’s ruling? How can I not feel despair at what I consider to be a denial of justice? Boeing killed 346 people, some of our own have lost their entire families—children, spouses, parents—in crashes that should never have happened without Boeing’s lies, fraud, and betrayal of institutions, airlines, and the public. How can the judge grant the DOJ dismissal of charges when, after the two crashes, a DPA was signed behind closed doors. We had to fight for more than two years to be recognized as victims and to prove that the DOJ had not complied. This DPA should have been immediately canceled because it did not comply with the law. My daughter, like all the passengers, boarded that plane in good faith. They died. The judge relies on the DOJ’s good faith to ensure the public interest. Is the public interest behind the uncertainty of safety when boarding a Boeing? Where is the public interest when it would never be cleared how Boeing put profits over safety? This decision is nonsense. The justice system is once again inflicting hardship on us, adding to our pain and our burden, but we will not give up our desire for truth and transparency, which is again denied to us.”

Javier de Luis of Massachusetts, who lost his sister in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Ethiopia, reacted to Judge O’Connor’s decision: “The judge in this case agrees that Boeing cannot be trusted to put safety ahead of their own bottom line. He agrees that the DoJ motion is not in the public interest. Unfortunately, he also believes that he is powerless to do anything about it. But it is important for the public to understand these points. Boeing bought itself a get-out-of-jail card. I pray it is not paid for by future families that will find themselves in our position, seeking justice for yet another plane full of innocent victims.”

Paul Njoroge from Canada, who lost his entire family, his wife and three small children, said, “Judge O’Connor’s decision to grant the DOJ’s request to dismiss this case feels like the justice system turning its back on us, the victims’ families. We have only been consistent in demanding a day in court, the public against Boeing. We have not gotten that. Our pursuit for justice isn’t about vengeance—it’s about truth, transparency, and public safety. When a company’s failures cost so many lives, ending a criminal case behind closed doors erodes trust and weakens deterrence for every passenger who steps onto a plane. The families have carried unbearable loss; the very least we deserve is a transparent process and real accountability. Anything less tells the world that powerful corporations play by different rules—and that cannot be the legacy of this tragedy. We will continue to pursue avenues for the pursuit of justice in this criminal case, including an appeal.”

Chris Moore, who lost his daughter Danielle, 24, in the second crash, said, “We look at the DOJ’s Agreement to not prosecute Boeing with incredulity. They are playing down the crimes carried out by Boeing that killed 346 people. They have moved the goal posts and used the rules to serve industry. It is obvious that the justice for and rights and safety for the People do not matter to this Department. The DoJ had admissions of fraud from Boeing. They determined that they broke the DPA. They even began a plea deal with Boeing that never materialized. They have not conferred with Families openly; some factions met secretly. We demand that the DoJ be transparent with us. We demand justice.”

In January 2021, the DOJ charged Boeing with conspiracy to defraud the FAA in its certification of the defective MAX 8 aircraft and reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing. The families were found to be crime victims under the federal Crime Victims Act.

In May 2024, following the blowout of an unsecured door plug aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX, the DOJ found that Boeing had breached the deferred prosecution agreement by not putting in place appropriate corporate compliance and safety measures. In July 2024, the DOJ and Boeing reached a deal in which Boeing was to plead guilty. The families objected to the terms as not punitive enough, and in December 2024, Judge O’Connor rejected that deal. Now he has agreed with the DOJ’s position, setting up the immediate appeal to the higher court.

Source: cliffordlaw