Boeing judge requests more information before ruling on plea deal

A judge reviewing Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) plea deal with U.S. prosecutors over two fatal crashes on Tuesday asked for more information before deciding whether to approve it, Bloomberg News reported. The judge wanted to see how a diversity and inclusion pledge would affect the choice of an outside monitor.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Fort Worth requested the information by Oct. 25, according to a court filing Tuesday. The judge on Friday heard opposing arguments about the deal, which some families of the crash victims oppose.

O’Connor said families of crash victims oppose permitting the government, rather than the court, to select a monitor with input from Boeing (BA).

The terms of agreement would require Boeing (BA) to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and invest in safety improvements. The agreement allows Boeing (BA) to avoid a criminal trial after the U.S. Justice Department determined the company breached a 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement over the crashes.

Family members of crash victims for years have argued for get harsher penalties after the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019.