Because he had just passed away, a couple who had previously taken legal action against the company’s CEO, that was to blame for the explosion that occurred last week, chose to abandon their claim.
Sharon and Marc Hagle, both of Florida, have filed a lawsuit against Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, stating that Rush has refused to reimburse them for the sum of $210,000 that they spent for a trip on the Titan submersible that was repeatedly postponed. The Eagles purchased the trip in advance and paid for it in full.
However, the pair declared on Monday that they would not be proceeding with the claim in light of the horrifying event the previous week when the submersible fell, resulting in the deaths of Rush and the other four people on board.
It has been brought to your attention that Stockton Rush, the current CEO and creator of OceanGate, and I are now involved in a legal dispute. They indicated that they had instructed their attorneys to withdraw any legal action against Stockton in light of these terrible events.
“Like most people around the world, we have watched the coverage of the OceanGate Titan capsule with great concern, enormous amounts of sadness, and compassion for the families of those who lost their lives,” they stated. “We are deeply sorry for their loss.” We celebrate their love of exploration and their appreciation for the opportunity to learn more about our waters.
The two people expressed their sympathies to the family members of the individual who had passed away. They said that “honor, respect, and dignity” are more critical to the survival of humanity than monetary wealth.
The Eagles reportedly submitted their complaint to Fox 35 Orlando in February 2023.
According to the source, which cited court records, the couple, who had previously traveled into space with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, first signed a contract with OceanGate in 2016 for a voyage in 2018 aboard the company’s Cyclops 2 vessel, which later changed its name to Titan. The arrangement was for a trip that would take place in 2018.
According to the documentation, they put down a deposit of twenty thousand dollars.
The Eagles subsequently sent $190,258 to OceanGate in February 2018, as the court records show. According to the source, contracts around this period suggested that the ship’s name had been altered to Titan.
The lawsuit said that OceanGate then postponed the expedition set for June 2018 instead of a trip in July 2019. However, the last journey was also postponed owing to the lack of a backup vessel, as reported by Fox 35 Orlando.
According to the evidence presented, the couple requested a full refund in June 2019, to which the company replied, saying they were working on processing the request.
However, OceanGate is said to have later notified the couple that they would be included in a trip in July 2021 and would only get a refund if they accepted the trip. This is stated in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Rush also agreed to retain their money in an escrow account, but they also disregarded that promise.
An hour and 45 minutes into the dive on June 18, 2023, the OceanGates Titan submarine lost contact with its mothership, which triggered a frantic search for the missing vessel.
On Thursday, the United States Coast Guard said that the five people on board the yacht had all died. The agency also stated that debris found during the search indicated that the vessel had capsized.
The previous week has shown that various specialists have regularly voiced concerns about the vessel’s safety, and earlier films that show Rush disregarding safety standards to pursue innovation have also emerged.
There have been other stories of expeditions that were not successful. David Pogue of CBS News was one of the passengers on the submersible in 2021; however, he reported that the excursion had to be terminated at 37 feet because of a problem with the equipment.
Along with Rush, the Titan tragically lost the lives of four other passengers: a British billionaire named Hamish Harding, an ex-French navy diver named Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a British-Pakistani businessman named Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman, who was 19 years old.
Keyphrase -Couple sued OceanGate CEO