Boeing, Virgin Galactic settle lawsuit over work on Virgin 'mothership'
03/10/2024 22:41
By Blake Brittain and Mike Scarcella
Oct 3 - Boeing BA.N and Virgin Galactic SPCE.N have
settled a lawsuit stemming from Boeing's work on Virgin
Galactic's space tourism "mothership," according to a Thursday
filing in Virginia federal court.
A docket entry in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia said the case had been resolved after a
settlement conference held earlier that day.
Virgin Galactic attorney Brett Williamson and Boeing said in
emails that the lawsuit was "satisfactorily resolved by mutual
agreement of the parties."
The companies did not provide more information about the
settlement.
Virgin Galactic's mothership jet carrier delivers
sightseeing vessels into suborbital space. The company completed
its first commercial flight last year.
Virgin signed a contract with Boeing's Aurora Flight
Sciences in 2022 to help design a new mothership. Boeing later
said that the mothership would cost more and take longer to
develop than expected.
Boeing sued Virgin in March, accusing it of stealing trade
secrets and refusing to pay $25 million owed for Boeing's work.
The lawsuit said Virgin took proprietary information from Boeing
including test data and math equations.
Virgin countersued in California in April, claiming Boeing
performed "shoddy and incomplete work" on the aircraft. Virgin
said it was entitled to monetary damages of at least "the
difference between the $45.6 million paid by Virgin Galactic to
Boeing and the substantially lower actual value of Boeing's
performance."
Virgin dismissed the California lawsuit in June and said it
would pursue its claims in the Virginia case.
A jury trial was set to start in December in the Virginia
case.
The case is The Boeing Company and Aurora Flight Sciences
Corp v. Virgin Galactic LLC, U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, No. 1:24-cv-00456.
For Boeing: Stephen Cowen, Brian Rabbitt and Megan Lacy Owen
of Jones Day
For Virgin Galactic: Brett Williamson of O'Melveny & Myers
Read more:
Boeing lawsuit accuses Virgin Galactic of stealing trade
secrets
Virgin Galactic countersues Boeing for 'shoddy' work on new
‘mothership’
Virgin Galactic, Boeing legal battle over spacecraft moves
to Virginia
(Reporting by Blake Brittain and Mike Scarcella in Washington)
((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713))