By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – The U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced that he will meet with family members and lawyers of victims in fatal Boeing (NYSE 🙂 737 MAX accidents. This is after some have challenged a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the airliner, according to the Justice Department.

Some relatives of victims claimed that the Department violated their rights by entering into the January 2021 Agreement with Boeing regarding the 2 crashes over a 5-month period which resulted in 346 deaths.

The two filed a motion alleging that the United States government had “lied and violated” their rights in a secret procedure. They asked for a U.S. Judge to remove Boeing’s immunity against criminal prosecution as part of the $2.5 Billion agreement and allow the planemaker to be publicly arraigned on felony charges.

Late Wednesday, the Justice Department indicated in court documents that the meeting would be held with Garland “within the next few days” and said it was unable to respond to the family’s motion before then.

Boeing and a Garland spokesperson declined to comment.

Boeing was able to escape prosecution through the January 2021 settlement. It includes a $243.6M fine, $1.77B in compensation for airlines, and $500M crash-victims fund. The February 2021 settlement covers fraud conspiracy and other charges related to Boeing’s defective design.

Michael Stumo, whose child Samya was killed in the Ethiopian Airlines flight 737 MAX collision, stated that he is pleased Garland will visit with family members of victims. Stumo explained that Garland, the Attorney General, has an opportunity to correct this injustice and hold Boeing accountable. He also can deter any future corporate criminal behavior.

This deal by the Justice Department ended a 21-month-long investigation of the design and construction of the 737 MAX aircraft following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which occurred in 2018 (and 2019).

Justice Department stated that the crash “exposed fraud and deceitful conduct by one of world’s top commercial plane manufacturers.”

A former Boeing Chief Technical Pilot was accused of fraud in October for tricking federal regulators who were evaluating Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. He denies any wrongdoing.

Boeing’s crashes cost them $20 billion. They also led to a 20-month grounded of the aircraft that was lifted in February 2020. Congress was forced to adopt legislation reforming airplane certification.

Boeing was able to save $243million by not using full-flight simulator training, according to the Justice Department.