A Chicago judge rejected a petition Monday, filed by a law firm to obtain evidence of possible design and manufacturing defects from the Boeing Co and Malaysian Airline System in connection with the missing flight MH370.
Cook County Judge Kathy Flanagan threatened to punish Ribbeck Law Chartered if they come up with such motions in the future. Last week Ribbeck Law submitted an application seeking documents from the two companies about the employees and the, the sales and lease agreements. The law firm had previously "improperly brought" petitions, such as one about last year's Asiana Airlines' plane crash in San Francisco without any proper evidence or investigation.
"Despite these orders, the same law firm has proceeded, yet again, with the filing of the instant petition, knowing full well that there is no basis to do so," said Flanagan, reports Reuters. "Should this law firm choose to do so; the court will impose sanctions on its own motion."
Ribbeck Law had filed two petitions to obtain the information. Both of them were turned down.
The petition was filed on behalf of Januari Siregar, who according to the firm is a relative of passenger Firman Chandra Siregar. The documents did not show the exact relationship.
Siregar told Bloomberg News he was the uncle of the missing passenger. The second motion was filed March 28 for Lee Khim Fatt, identified as the husband of flight crew member Foong Wai Yueng.
Mervin Mateo, a spokesman for Ribbeck Law said the ruling will not stop the firm from going in for a lawsuit. "It really has no effect," Mateo said, reports Associated Press. "We will wait until the debris had been found. ... Then, we can file a lawsuit."
The petitions has drawn criticism from the U.S. aviation lawyers and experts who called it a publicity stunt as the details of the plane's disappearance still remain unclear.
According to Justin Green, a lawyer with rival aviation law firm Kreindler & Kreindler, the motion was "nothing short of outrageous," reports Reuters.
"Without plane wreckage, victims' bodies and any substantial evidence of cause or potential motive, there is simply no way to determine liability at this point in the investigation, and any legal counsel should recognize that," he said in a statement Monday, reports Reuters.
