Boeing Ordered to Pay ICO $631M in Damages

Reston, Va. -- Boeing (BA Quote) has been ordered to pay former customer ICO Global Communications (ICOG Quote) $631 million in damages after a California court approved a jury verdict against the Chicago-based aerospace company.

The Los Angeles Superior Court backed a jury's decision in October to award $371 million in compensatory damages, and $236 million punitive damages, plus prejudgement interest, ICO said Tuesday.

Boeing will also be required to pay ICO 10% interest on the full judgment starting Jan. 2, the company said.

Boeing did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday morning.

The lawsuit filed by ICO stems from the company's decade-old plan to launch a fleet of satellites that would broadcast video and other services to mobile device users around the world. ICO filed a lawsuit in 2004 seeking $2 billion in damages against Boeing for breach of contract and fraud.

ICO had been under contract with El Segundo, Calif.-based Hughes Electronics Corp. in the mid-1990s to build and launch 12 satellites. Boeing later acquired Hughes in 2000 and inherited the ICO contract, but only finished two satellites.

Shares of Boeing fell $1.08, or 2.3%, to $45.23 in morning trading Wednesday.