spacetoday.net: Boeing seeks to dismiss Lockheed lawsuit, may appeal Air Force ruling

Posted: Sat, Aug 2, 2003, 10:28 AM ET (1428 GMT)
Boeing

Boeing announced Friday that it has filed a motion to dismiss a Lockheed Martin lawsuit regarding Boeing's use of Lockheed Martin EELV documents, while another report suggested Boeing may appeal an Air Force decision to suspend the company and revoke some of its launch contracts. Boeing said Friday that it had filed the dismissal motions in federal court in Orlando, where Lockheed Martin had filed its lawsuit earlier this year claiming that Boeing had obtained proprietary Lockheed documents in the mid-1990s regarding its EELV bid and used it to prepare its own bid to the Air Force. A Boeing executive called the lawsuit an "effort to damage Boeing’s reputation through... opportunistic litigation" and claimed that "Lockheed Martin is trying to stretch alleged facts into violations of laws that do not fit this case." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Boeing is considering the Air Force's decision last month to indefinitely suspend Boeing's launch business from military contracts as well as strip the company of seven launch contracts previously awarded. Boeing's press release indicated that "although we disagree with some of the specific Air Force findings, we are working with the Air Force to determine the best way forward."