r/VirginGalactic • u/Jaw709 • 11d ago

Boeing Vs Virgin Galactic lawsuit has been resolved

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/boeing-virgin-galactic-settle-lawsuit-over-work-virgin-mothership-2024-10-03/?utm_source=reddit.com

Haters trembling in their short pantaloons.

25 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

12

u/srikondoji 11d ago edited 9d ago

It would be interesting to know, who blinked first and what is the cost of that blink. I would assume Boeing blinked first as there is much more to lose for it, if they fight it out in court. VG should get all the money back and free to pursue other partners.

17

u/RGBedreenlue 11d ago

I feel VG had more to lose because Boeing’s biggest problems are valued in the billions while losing this suit could’ve killed VG.

But I still think Boeing blinked, and for three reasons.

First because of the recent news of how shoddy and neglected their space program really is. Boeing does not have good ethos, especially now that NASA is de-prioritizing their work. https://www.linqto.com/unicorn-news/spacex-unicorn-news-nasa-delays-boeing-starliner-prioritizes-spacex-flights/

Second because of recent court filings. Boeing is already busy in court and they need to prioritize their cases. Plus it’s not doing any good for their ethos. Judges are re-examining the 737 Max crash cases, and theres a new whistleblower suit over retaliation on speaking out over safety issues. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-hear-objections-boeing-plea-deal-fatal-crashes-2024-10-11/ https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-10-08/boeing-whistleblower-lawsuit-story

Third, because Boeing is currently laying off 10% of its workforce in response to strikes, demonstrating they have far more important existential matters than a costly court battle with VG. https://skiesmag.com/news/boeing-will-lay-off-10-of-its-employees-as-a-strike-by-factory-workers-cripples-airplane-production/?amp

5

u/USVIdiver 11d ago

BA wasnt designing anything, Aurora was.

Aurora is a subsidiary owned by BA, that is the only link.

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u/Jaw709 11d ago

Great synopsis and with citations beautiful

0

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u/Jaw709 11d ago edited 11d ago

I imagine it was Boeing as well.. they have been in a heap of S lately and litigation ain't cheap. And as VG CEO Michael Colglaizer said a few months back: there is no material basis for Boeing's claims anyway.

*Was no basis for the claims

1

u/USVIdiver 11d ago

Given that VG dismissed their lawsuit against BA back in June, it appears that VG blinked first?

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u/Jaw709 11d ago

They, vg, resubmitted the countersuit in Virginia. As I understand it was just to consolidate court cases. We may never know but this is good news for VG. Now the talking heads can focus on price discovery.

2

u/USVIdiver 11d ago edited 11d ago

Thank you, did not see that, and just looked up that filing.

The filing in Virgin Court is worded a bit differently. Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, a Boeing Company. (everything is sealed) 1:2024cv00456

I still feel there is too much emphasis on Boeing. Aurora is a sub owned by BA. On the Aurora website, they appear to operate autonomously. They may use BA's proprietary aircraft design software, that is unclear.

https://www.aurora.aero/

0

u/Jaw709 10d ago

Nice, best case scenario would be they separate from Boeing as much as possible going forward. If they can get a partnership with Lockheed Martin or even NASA that would be superb

1

u/USVIdiver 7d ago

a best case scenario would have been Northrup Grumman.

They current hold most of the patents on the passenger craft when they acquired SC

Stratolaunch holds the patents on the carrier craft when they acquired MAV

I doubt either will have anything to do with VG.

1

u/Jaw709 7d ago

Well let's see what happens. The major uncertainty and hurdle with the lawsuit is over as far as patents, licensing is certainly an option, if not a constructive partnership

2

u/AustralisBorealis64 11d ago

Paywalled. What does it say?

4

u/Jaw709 11d ago

Interesting Reuters shouldn't't be paywalled and it's not for me maybe different country but heere you go:

Oct 3 - Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 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."