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The lawyers representing Kenyan families of victims of the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane crash are seeking up to $58 billion (Sh7.5 trillion) in compensation, more than double the initial request for the crash victim’s families.

Last month, the American Plane maker, Boeing, finalised an agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and to pay fines ranging between $243.6 million (Sh31.6 billion) and $487 million (Sh63.1 billion), which is only a fraction of $24.8 billion (Sh3.2 trillion) in compensation that families of the crash victims had initially requested.

The US law firm Ribbeck Law Chartered (RLC), said in a submission to a US District Court, disputed the agreement, arguing the compensation amount is too little and is instead pushing for a much higher compensation amount of between $47 billion (Sh6 trillion) and $58 billion (Sh7.5 trillion).

Criminal fraud cases

Manuel von Ribbeck, Founding Partner at Ribbeck Law Chartered, stated that the proposed compensation was more in line with previous criminal fraud cases involving corporate firms and where larger fines amounting to billions of dollars were charged even when they did not involve deaths.

“RLC, on behalf of its clients, vehemently objects to the proposed plea agreement entered into by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Boeing concerning the recent criminal fraud charges. The proposed fine is grossly inadequate and fails to meet the standards set by prior precedents in penalizing corporations for similar egregious conduct,” said Manuel von Ribbeck.

The firm further urged the Court to dismiss the proposed plea suggesting that Boeing should be required to pay a substantial fine which recognizes the value of each of the 346 people killed and the significant harm to others.

In 2019, Boeing had admitted full responsibility for the crash in a legal agreement, which stated that the aircraft manufacturer accepted responsibility for the crash of Ethiopian airlines flight 302 in March 2019, having produced an airplane that had unsafe conditions.

The company had also agreed a $2.5 billion (Sh324.4 billion) settlement with the US DOJ in fines and compensation, which included a $500 million (Sh64.8 billion) fund to compensate families of the 346 victims of the two 737 Max crashes.