MH 370: Families of 12 passengers on Flight 370 file lawsuits

Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who is representing 10 families, said the lawsuits involve a passenger from Russia, one from China and the rest from Malaysia.

MH 370, Malaysia Airlines flight 370, MH 370 wreckage, MH 370 remains found, MH 370 found

In this Tuesday, April 8, 2014, photo, a relative of passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that vanished exactly one month ago, waits for a briefing to start at a conference room of a hotel in Beijing. As the two-year anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 370 approaches, the situation would seem decidedly grim. The underwater hunt of a punishing patch of ocean that has trudged along since late 2014 has thus far come up empty, the stretch of water left to search is narrowing and skepticism of whether crews are looking in the right place continues to grow. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Families of 12 passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 today sued the carrier and the government, ahead of a filing deadline next week on the second anniversary of the plane’s disappearance.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 flew far off course for unknown reasons after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014. An ongoing search of the southern Indian Ocean has found no trace of the plane, though a wing part from the aircraft washed ashore on Reunion Island last year. A global aviation agreement sets a two-year deadline for lawsuits by next-of-kin over air accidents.

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Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who is representing 10 families, said the lawsuits involve a passenger from Russia, one from China and the rest from Malaysia. Apart from the airline, the lawsuits also named the government and the then heads of the civil aviation department and the navy as defendants. Sangeet said her clients were engaged in settlement negotiations with the airline earlier.

“Everyone waited till the last minute to give time to the airline to settle but nothing reasonable was forthcoming. So they have no choice but to take legal action given the time limitation,” Sangeet said. Lawyer Yeoh Cho Kheong, who is representing the families of two Ukrainian passengers, said his clients will continue
negotiations with the airline despite the lawsuit. The two men, aged 44 at the time, were partners in a furniture business.

The families said they each earned USD 2 million annually and were on their way to Beijing for a business deal, Yeoh said. “If an out-of-court settlement can be achieved, I believe my clients will accept it,” Yeoh added. All the lawsuits are seeking unspecified sums for negligence and breach of contract, the lawyers said.
Sangeet said she expects to file two more lawsuits on Monday, the last day for filing.

An international aviation agreement allows each next-of-kin of passengers on board a plane up to USD 175,000 in compensation, but a plaintiff filing a lawsuit can seek more.

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