Liability, awards and settlements

6.5, Justice Department investigation, settlement

US: the Boeing Corporation agreed to pay $615mn to settle a US Justice Department investigation into its acquisition of documents from competitor Lockheed Martin. The deal tentatively calls for Boeing to pay $564mn to cover civil claims and $50mn to resolve criminal investigations. Details are expected to be released this week. In 2003, Boeing lost multiple contracts reportedly worth about $1bn, and three of its business units were suspended as a result of its possession of documents belonging to Lockheed Martin. Last March, the US Air Force removed the 20month suspension, and Boeing agreed to reimburse the government $1.9mn to cover the cost of the investigation. Boeing’s new deal with the Justice Department lets the company avoid criminal charges or any admission of wrongdoing, according to media reports. Lockheed has pending civil claims for damages related to the improperly maintained documents, but has not yet commented on how the reported Boeing settlement will affect those claims.