Legal Hurdles Ahead: Judge Sets Tight Timeline for 737 MAX Crash Victims' Objections

A U.S. judge has expedited the schedule for evaluating the objections from relatives of the 737 MAX crash victims against the Justice Department's plea deal with Boeing. Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a $243.6 million fine. The judge allocated timeframes for filing and responding to objections.

A U.S. judge on Monday set a fast schedule to consider the objections of relatives of those killed in two fatal 737 MAX crashes to the Justice Department's plea deal with Boeing.

The planemaker on July 7 agreed in principle to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6 million. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas said after the Justice Department files the plea agreement, relatives of those killed will have a week to file objections and then the government and Boeing will have two weeks to respond.