The lawsuit on behalf of Avia Capital Services
was filed in state court in Illinois, where Boeing
is based. It claims that Boeing committed fraud
and breach of contract and was negligent
in how it designed and built the plane and
convinced the Federal Aviation Administration
to approve it.
A spokesman for Boeing declined to comment,
citing pending litigation.
Avia could become the first customer to cancel
a signed agreement to buy the Max as a result
of the crashes and grounding. In July, Saudi
Arabian discount airline flyadeal backed out of
a commitment to order 50 Max jets, but unlike
Avia, flyadeal never signed a firm order.
Nearly 400 Max jets that were being flown by
airlines around the world have been grounded
since March, shortly after the second of two
crashes that together killed 346 people.
Avia ordered Max jets in 2012 and was originally
set to begin receiving them this year, but the