Case: 1:19-cv-08095 Document #: 7 Filed: 12/17/19 Page 1 of 227 PageID #:232 Case: 1:19-cv-08095 Document #: 7 Filed: 12/17/19 Page 2 of 227 PageID #:232 SUMMARY OF THE ACTION ..................................................................................................... 6 JURISDICTION AND VENUE ................................................................................................... 14 PARTIES ...................................................................................................................................... 15 FACTUAL BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 20 I. Boeing’s Commercial Airlines Division Is the Company’s Primary Revenue Driver.................................................................................................... 20 II. Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes Must Comply with Domestic Safety Regulations .......................................................................................................... 22 A. The Development of the FAA and its Regulatory Scheme ........................... 23 B. Boeing’s Expansive Self-Certification Authorization Rights ....................... 25 III. Although Boeing’s Success Depends on Selling Safe Products, its Corporate Governance Documents Ignored Safety Issues.............................. 27 IV. Historically, Boeing Has Repeatedly Failed to Maintain Safe and Legally Compliant Operations........................................................................... 29 A. In the 1990s, Boeing Violated the FAA’s Safety Regulations and Then Concealed Similar Safety Flaws .................................................................. 30 B. Boeing Disregarded Safety Issues When Building its 787 Dreamliner Model, Resulting in Violations of FAA Regulations............................................ 32 C. Boeing Continues to Violate Proper Safety Guidelines and Regulations ........................................................................................................... 34 V. Defendants, including CEOs McNerney and Muilenburg, Fostered a Culture at Boeing that Rewarded Maximizing Profits And Punished Employees Who Raised Safety Concerns ......................................................... 36 VI. To Compete with its Rival Airbus, Boeing’s Senior Management and the Board Rushed Boeing Employees to Produce the 737 MAX as Cheaply as Possible ............................................................................................. 41 VII. Boeing’s Senior Management Made No Simulator Training for Pilots A Key Selling Feature of the 737 MAX, Which Created Intense Pressure on Boeing’s Rank and File Employees to Achieve This Goal with the FAA’s Approval ................................................................................... 45 VIII. The Board and Senior Management Failed to Ensure that the 737 MAX Complied with Federal Safety Regulations As Required By Their Oversight Duties ....................................................................................... 47 IX. In 2012, Boeing Began Developing the 737 MAX’s MCAS While the Board Continued to Ignore its Oversight Duties Related to the 737 MAX’s Compliance with FAA Regulations ...................................................... 49 X. Boeing Maximized Profits and Violated Safety Regulations by Charging Airlines Extra for Standard Safety Features on the 737 MAX Airplanes ................................................................................................... 52 XI. In 2013, the Board and Boeing’s Senior Management Ignored Their Oversight Duties Related to the FAA’s Safety Regulations Despite 2 Case: 1:19-cv-08095 Document #: 7 Filed: 12/17/19 Page 3 of 227 PageID #:232 Several Pending FAA Investigations Concerning Failures of BCA’s Internal Controls ................................................................................................. 53 XII. In 2014, Boeing Managers Refused to Implement Significant Safety Upgrades on the 737 MAX While the Board and Boeing’s Senior Management Continued to Ignore their Oversight Duties Related to Safety Regulation Issues In the Midst of the FAA’s Investigations of BCA’s Alleged Violations ................................................................................... 61 XIII. Despite A Specific Warning from the Inspector General and a Comprehensive Settlement with the FAA, the Board and Boeing’s Senior Executives Continued to Ignore their Oversight Duties Related to the 737 MAX’s Compliance with FAA Regulations in 2015 ....................... 70 XIV. By 2016, the Board and Boeing’s Senior Executives Pushed Employees to Maximize Profits by Increasing Production Rates While These Fiduciaries Failed to Exercise their Oversight Duties Related to the FAA’s Safety Regulations ............................................................................ 82 XV. In 2017, Defendants’ Failures to Exercise their Oversight Duties Related to the 737 MAX’s Safety and Compliance with FAA Regulations Continued ....................................................................................... 94 XVI. In 2018, Defendants Pushed for 737 MAX Production Increases While Continuing to Ignore Safety and Regulatory Issues ...................................... 101 XVII. The Board Further Breached its Fiduciary Duties After the Lion Air Crash to Ground the 737 MAX Aircrafts .................................................. 109 XVIII. Defendants Continued to Contend the 737 MAX Was “Safe” after Another Fatal 737 MAX Crash ....................................................................... 131 XIX. Defendants Continue to Deny That Boeing Created a Defective Airplane that Violated FAA Regulations ........................................................ 148 XX. In June 2019, the FAA Discovers Another Safety Design Flaw in the MAX, and Boeing’s Troubles Continue to Mount ......................................... 156 XXI. Boeing Implements Insufficient Remedial Measures to Address Safety Failures............................................................................................................... 159 XXII. The October 2019 Congressional Hearings Confirm that Boeing Failed to Comply with Safety Regulations in Favor of Generating Profits When Developing and Operating the 737 MAX ................................ 162 A. The October 29, 2019 Senate Hearing ........................................................ 162 B. The October 30, 2019 House Hearing ......................................................... 165 XXIII. Boeing has Already Suffered Billions in Damages Due to Defendants’ Wrongdoing ....................................................................................................... 172 XXIV. The Board Unjustly Enriched Defendants Despite Their Oversight Failures Related to the Noncompliant 737 MAX Airplanes ......................... 174 DUTIES OF THE DEFENDANTS.......................................................................................... 177 I. Defendants Violated Delaware law and Boeing’s Corporate Governance Requirements When They Failed to Fulfill Their Fiduciary Duties ................................................................................................ 177 3 Case: 1:19-cv-08095 Document #: 7 Filed: 12/17/19 Page 4 of 227 PageID #:232 II. The Director Defendants Violated Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 14a-9, and Breached their Fiduciary Duties of Disclosure, By Causing the Company to File Materially Misleading Proxy Statements .............................................................................................. 182 A. Numerous Director Defendants Caused Boeing to Issue the Materially False or Misleading 2017 Proxy Statement ........................................................ 182 B. Numerous Director Defendants Caused Boeing to Issue the Materially False or Misleading 2018 Proxy Statement ........................................................ 188 C. Numerous Director Defendants Caused Boeing to Issue the Materially False or Misleading 2019 Proxy Statement ........................................................ 196 DEMAND ON THE BOARD IS EXCUSED BECAUSE IT IS FUTILE ............................ 205 A. THE FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF AGAINST THE PROXY DEFENDANTS FOR VIOLATIONS OF SECTION 14(a) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT ............................................................................................ 205 B. THE SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF AGAINST DEFENDANTS FOR OVERSIGHT BREACHES OF DUTIES RELATED TO 737 MAX ................................................................................................................... 207 C. THE THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF AGAINST THE BOARD DEFENDANTS FOR BREACHES OF FIDUCIARY DUTIES FOR THEIR REPEATED REFUSAL TO GROUND THE 737 MAX FLEET AFTER THE LION AIR AND ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES CRASHES .......................................................................................................... 213 D. THE FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF AGAINST THE OFFICER DEFENDANTS FOR UNJUST ENRICHMENT .......................................... 214 CLAIMS FOR RELIEF ........................................................................................................... 215 CLAIM I ........................................................................................................................ 215 VIOLATION OF SECTION 14(a) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT AGAINST THE PROXY DEFENDANTS...................................................... 215 CLAIM II ......................................................................................................................