Robert and Catherine Lawton, and Rodney and Mary Burrows, all close friends from Queensland, were headed for the Chinese capital on that ill-fated day.
Briefly, the families are suing the airline for “not doing enough to prevent the flight from mysteriously flying off course”. The surviving family members claim the airline “failed to take any or any adequate precautions for the safety of the passengers” and “exposed the passengers to a risk of injury, which could have been avoided by reasonable care”.
The families of the Lawtons and Burrows, in seeking compensation two years later, said they were “suffering varying degrees of nervous shock and consequential economic loss” as a result of the deaths of their loved ones.
Their statement of claim stressed that Malaysian Airlines Berhad, the company that owns Malaysian Airlines, and was placed in Administration last August, “failed to prevent the Flight from being operated in a manner that caused it to crash”.
The families are claiming more than A$200,000 in damages, reimbursement for funeral costs including memorial services and the cost of administering the estates of the two couples.
Under the 1999 Montreal Convention, to which both Malaysia and Australia are signatories, the claimants are limited to 113,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) which works out to A$209,000. If the court finds that the Montreal Convention does not apply, there’s no cap on the amount of damages that can be claimed by the families.
Rodney Burrows, a long-time employee of an energy company Energex, had accepted redundancy payments from it two years before he got on board MH370. The Burrows decided to travel after selling their Brisbane home in Middle Park and downsizing.
Earlier in March, two families filed separate suits in Perth and Victoria on their intention to sue Malaysian Airlines.
Paul Weeks of Perth was on board MH370.
Likewise, Chong Ling Tan from Victoria was also on board the same ill-fated flight. His wife of 23 years, Jennifer Chong, 48, filed the action in the Victoria Supreme Court. Jennifer is also from Victoria.
Read further here:
MH 370 tragedy: Perth family sues Malaysia Airlines
Kew widow Jennifer Chong sues Malaysia Airlines over doomed MH370 flight