Boeing sued over 737 MAX purchases by South African airline Comair.

Boeing Co. has been sued by a shuttered South African airline for fraud over its agreement to buy eight 737 MAX planes and seeks damages worth $83 million.

Comair’s suit filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle said Boeing “placed profits over safety and led with a plan of deception.” Boeing has declined to comment on this.

Boeing committed fraud over its failure to disclose problems with a key flight control system, said Comair, tied to two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia that resulted in 346 deaths and led to the MAX’s 20-month grounding.

Comair operated flights for British Airways and its own brand Kulula.co before it ended operations in June.

Boeing refused to return $45.2 million in advance payments it made on seven MAX planes, the airline said. One 737 MAX had been paid for and received.

Polish national airline sued Boeing in late 2021 on similar grounds over 737 MAX purchases in Seattle and the suit is pending.

In October, LOT asked a U.S. judge in Texas to declare it was a crime victim in the Boeing criminal case and said the damages incurred were at least $250 million.

In October, a U.S. district judge ruled people killed in two Boeing crashes are legally “crime victims”. LOT has demanded to get the same rights.

Boeing pleaded not guilty last month to a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy felony charge