Russian company sues Boeing over Max planes

A Russian aircraft-leasing company has filed the first lawsuit by a company against Boeing over the plane maker's grounded 737 Max jets.

Avia Capital Services told Russian state-owned Tass News Agency on Tuesday that Boeing failed to disclose information about the jets' "defects" and failed to deliver 35 safe, serviceable Max jets as promised, according to The Associated Press.

Boeing declined to comment on the suit filed in Chicago on Monday. Boeing's headquarters is in the city.

Family members of some of the 346 passengers and crew killed in the two crashes of Max jets have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the aircraft maker.

Steven Marks, an attorney with the Miami law firm Podhurst Orseck, who represents 30 families of victims of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, told The Financial Times: "I think you will see a number of other operators filing suit in coming months. This will be the first of many to come."

Boeing has attempted to negotiate compensation deals with customers, but Avia rejected the offer as inadequate, according to The Financial Times.

The Avia lawsuit alleges that Boeing "intentionally" failed to inform its customers, including Avia, about the safety of the Max model. It alleges Boeing was "negligent", designed a "defective" plane and withheld "critical information" about the aircraft's safety from regulators and customers.

Avia asks the court to allow it to cancel the deal without penalty. Avia said it made a cash deposit of $35 million and seeks return of the amount with interest, $75 million in lost profits and "several times the amount" in punitive damages.

Boeing took a $4.9 billion charge in the second quarter to cover settlements and posted a $2.94 billion second-quarter loss, the largest in company history.