April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. planemaker Boeing ( BA ) settled

lawsuits with the families of two victims killed in the March

2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX on the eve of

trial, lawyers for the families said.

The trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago was set to be

the first against the planemaker stemming from two fatal 737 MAX

crashes in 2018 and 2019 that led to the bestselling plane's

20-month grounding and cost Boeing ( BA ) more than $20 billion.