Naoise Ryan v. United States

── Naoise Ryan v. United States ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: May 22, 2026 Category: Original Proceedings Case: 25-11253 Document: 152-2 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/22/2026 REVISED United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit _____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 25-11253 May 22, 2026 consolidated with No. 25-11254 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk _____________ In re Naoise Connolly Ryan; Emily Chelangat Babu; Joshua Mwazo Babu; Catherine Berthet; Huguette Debets, Et al., Petitioners. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC Nos. 4:21-CR-5-1, 4:21-CR-5-1 ______________________________ ON PETITIONS FOR REHEARING Before Southwick, Duncan, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: The petition for rehearing en banc by Petitioners is DENIED. No member of the panel or judge in regular active service requested that the court be polled on rehearing en banc in this case. (Fed. R. App. P. 35 and 5th Cir. R. 35.) The petition for panel rehearing by Petitioners is DENIED. See 5th Cir. R. 40. We withdraw our previous opinion, 171 F.4th 773, and substitute the following: Case: 25-11253 Document: 152-2 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/22/2026 25-11253 c/w No. 25-11254 Following two tragic airplane crashes that killed hundreds, the Department of Justice investigated Boeing for concealing safety information related to the crashes. It then charged Boeing with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Department later entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with Boeing on the condition that Boeing pay $1.1 billion in fines and undertake remedial actions. The district court granted the Department’s motion to dismiss the prosecution. Family members of the crash victims unsuccessfully challenged the NPA and the dismissal in the district court under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3771 et seq. The families then sought mandamus relief in our court. We agree with the district court that the Department did not violate the families’ rights under the CVRA. Accordingly, we DENY the petitions for writ of mandamus. I In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff in Indonesia, killing 189 passengers and crew. In March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff in Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew. Both planes were Boeing 737 MAX airliners. The crashes were caused by pilots’ unfamiliarity with Boeing’s changes to the 737 MAX’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). See In re Ryan, 88 F.4th 614, 618 (5th Cir. 2023). In response to the crashes, the Department of Justice launched a two-year investigation into Boeing. In February 2020, a representative of the Flight 302 crash victims’ families contacted the Department, which told them that Boeing was not currently under criminal investigation. The Department later apologized for failing to meet and confer with the families, claiming it was caused by “a regrettable and inadvertent internal miscommunication.” 2 Case: 25-11253 Document: 152-2 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/22/2026 25-11253 c/w No. 25-11254 In J