US firm seeking millions in lawsuits
Print Edition
A US law firm has initiated what it called the first civil legal proceedings over the crash of flight MH370 and said it planned to pursue lawsuits seeking “millions of dollars” for aggrieved families.
Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered said it filed a court petition in the US state of Illinois targeting Malaysia Airlines and Boeing, blaming both companies for the disaster.
“We are going to be filing the lawsuits for millions of dollars per passenger based on prior cases that we have done involving crashes like this one,” the firm’s head of aviation litigation, Monica Kelly, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
The development appeared to mark the start of what legal experts have warned could be a cascade of lawsuits by relatives livid over the unexplained disappearance of their loved ones.
Kelly said her firm was also talking to several relatives in China and Malaysia about taking similar action.
In a statement, Ribbeck said it had filed a “petition of discovery” in Illinois requesting a court to order defendants to provide potential evidence and other information.
In particular, documents being sought pertain to possible design or mechanical defects or conduct by the airline that may have led to the disaster, it said.
“We believe that both defendants named are responsible for the disaster of flight MH370,” the statement said.
The legal action was filed on behalf of Januari Siregar, an Indonesian lawyer and father of passenger Firman Chandra Siregar, 25.
“I seek justice for my son and all of the people who lost their lives in the crash,” Januari Siregar was quoted in the statement as saying.
Boeing and Malaysia Airlines have 30 days to reply, Kelly told reporters.
She said Malaysia Airlines’ policy with German insurer Allianz was worth more than US$1.5 billion.
Floyd Wisner, another US-based aviation crash attorney, said Malaysia Airlines’ liability was “almost certain, no matter what the cause of the crash ultimately is determined to be.”
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