Boeing Co. sidesteps punitive damages.

Byline: From Register-Guard and news service reports

SAN FRANCISCO - The Boeing Co. is not subject to punitive damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging the aircraft maker and Alaska Airlines were at fault for the January 2000 jet crash that killed all 88 aboard, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer came a day after the judge refused to dismiss the Chicago-based company from the suit. Boeing claimed that Alaska Airlines was solely responsible for Flight 261's plunge into the Pacific off the Port Hueneme coast, just north of Los Angeles.

The ruling spares Boeing, if found liable by a jury, from having to pay potentially millions of dollars in added damages.

``Boeing is pleased with Judge Breyer's ruling,'' company attorney Robert Scoular said.

Punitive damages, which are issued by a jury to punish a company for wrongdoing, are allowed only if a company's conduct is reckless. The judge said that the ``record is insufficient to support a finding by a reasonable jury that Boeing's conduct manifested reckless or callous disregard for the rights of others.''

The judge, however, kept the company in the case, ruling there was a ``genuine dispute as to the Boeing defendant's negligence.''

Frank Pitre, an attorney representing victims' families, who is alleging that a faulty aircraft design contributed to the crash, said that ``Boeing dodged the bullet.''

Sixty-nine of 88 cases surrounding the crash have been settled. The remaining cases are consolidated in a trial expected to start July 7 before Breyer.

Among those who have not settled are the adult children of Glenn and Barbara Hatleberg of Eugene. The couple died in the plane crash.

"It's difficult for us to find a lot of displeasure with Judge Beyer's ruling when up to today, every single ruling has been in our favor," said Jeff Hatleberg of Eugene, who learned of the latest development from his attorney Friday.

"It's my understanding that there's never been a punitive damage award in an airline crash," he said. "We knew from the beginning that it was a long shot at best, but if ever there was a potential for punitive damages, this case was worthy."

Boeing contends that the accident would have been prevented if Alaska Airlines had properly maintained the MD-83 aircraft.

Alaska declined comment on Boeing's assertion, but told Breyer that it would concede liability and head straight to a damages phase of the trial. Scoular, Boeing's lawyer, declined comment on whether the aircraft maker would follow that path.

Alaska's plans to concede liability mean the case will never go to trial, and the true facts of the crash will never be made public, Jeff Hatleberg said.

"Hopefully Boeing and Alaska will improve," he said. "I would think Boeing and Alaska and the FAA would all want that. I'm sure this hasn't been pleasant for them, either."

Flight 261 was headed from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco when it crashed off Port Hueneme. Investigators quickly focused on a lack of grease on the jackscrew, a tail component that helps move the jet's stabilizer and sets the angle of flight.