A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday decertified a class action lawsuit brought by Boeing shareholders. The lawsuit alleged that Boeing executives prioritized financial performance over safety and made misleading statements regarding aircraft quality prior to the mid-air cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024. Following that incident, Boeing's stock price declined by 8%.
Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. wrote that the shareholders, led by the Rhode Island state treasurer, failed to establish a clear method for calculating damages on a classwide basis. The court found that the plaintiffs did not sufficiently demonstrate how much Boeing's alleged misrepresentations inflated the stock price at specific times. The ruling cited a 2013 Supreme Court precedent regarding the requirements for class certification.
The decision vacates a March 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who had previously certified the class of shareholders who owned stock between January 2021 and January 2024. The case has been returned to the lower court for further proceedings. Boeing still faces a separate class action in Chicago related to earlier 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.