On Nov. 23, a Beijing court dismissed a lawsuit filed by family members of 32 crash victims against state-owned China Eastern Airlines, a plane manufacturer and the engine maker.

All 47 passengers and six crew died when the plane crashed in Baotou in 2004.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said it did not have jurisdiction.

The families were seeking US$11.75 million in compensation, said Hao Junbao, a lawyer for relatives of the victims.

Hao said Canada-based Bombardier, which designed and sold the plane's frame, and United States-based General Electric, which manufactured the plane's turbo-jet engine, had offices in Beijing and the court had jurisdiction according to China's civil procedure law.

But the court said the plaintifs had no evidence to prove the air crash was the fault of the plane's manufacturers.

Hao said all the evidence was held by the defendants. But the court asked him to wait for further notice.

Meanwhile, another law firm - the Shanghai subsidiary of Beijing-based Zhongxin Law Office - is suing the China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) and petitioned the court to order the administration to disclose information, especially the investigation report on the accident.