For those not willing to google it, basically the article says that Boeing has officially answered the question the judge made about whether Boeing ever informed Spanair of the need to check TOWS before each take off.
Boeing's answer: No.
Boeing's says Spanair's SOP is a slight deviation from their current one. But they also admit such tests weren't part of their original operating procedures, but a modification after Detroit's accident.
Boeing didn't inform Korean Airlines either, from whom Spanair purchased the aircraft. Boeing says there is no system in place to inform each subsequent owner of individual airplanes for which some safety recommendation has been issued.
Spanair sustains their SOPs are safe (safer than the originals, they say) and include 3 check points for wing configurations before each take off. TOWS checks by the crew are also mandatory on first flights of the day or after pilots enter a cockpit they have been away from for a long time. They argue their SOPs had been approved by Spanish air regulation authorities and that they had no knowledge of safety warnings asking for additional TOWS checks previous to each take off. Such changes in procedures for additonal TOWS checks were never mandatory by any civil air authority in the world before the accident, and remained a safety *recomendation* only.
Regardless, Spanair made mandatory as per SOP for crew to check TOWS before each individual take off nine days after the accident.
Boeing was also asked by the judge if the procedure employed by the technician (engineer) in charge of the "repair" shortly before the accident was correct according to their repair procedures. The pilot had reported excessive RAT temperature readings due to the RAT probe air intake heater being turned on while on the ground. The technician pulled out a fuse to disable the heater and dispatched the aircraft by MEL.
AFAIK, Boeing hasn't answered yet.
Spanair has a solid insurance policy to cover individual accidents for up to 1.500 million €uros (almost $2billion). It is estimated that if the main cause of the accident was crew error, the indemnization to the families of the 153 victims would be in the order of 150.000€ each only (about $200k). It would be much greater if an important part of the fault was laid on either Boeing or Spanair.
Scandinavia's SAS, owners of Spanair, was thinking of putting the financially troubled branch for sale right around the time the accident occurred. It seems to be finally closing on a deal to sell it to a Spanish investment group based in Catalonia.
Spanair transported 8,9 million passengers on 2008, down about 10% due to weaker global travel and probably some impact from the accident. It operated at about 68% occupancy. The company had downsized recently, laying off about 800 employees and reducing their fleet and routes.