Judge Dismisses Justice Dept. Claims Against Boeing, 5 Former Executives

A federal judge has dismissed the Justice Department’s civil claims against the Boeing Co. and five former executives who were awarded severance payments totaling $485,000 when they moved to high-ranking Defense Department jobs.

The department had charged that the payments, made in 1981 and 1982, created “a conflict-of-interest situation,” and shouldn’t have been billed to the government by the defense contractor as part of its normal business costs.

District Judge Claude M. Hilton dismissed all the claims Feb. 17, saying he concluded that the severance payments were in line with Boeing’s standard practice for executives who left the company for public service.