US Couple Withdraws Lawsuit Against Late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush After Titan Tragedy

After news broke that all 5 persons onboard Titan submersible, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, died following a “catastrophic implosion”, the Florida couple decided to drop the lawsuit.

A couple from Orange County, Florida, who had sued Richard Stockton Rush, the OceanGate Expeditions CEO piloting the submersible that imploded in the North Atlantic Ocean earlier this week, has withdrawn the lawsuit. Marc and Sharon Hagle, who travelled to space in the fourth crewed flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket in March 2022, had filed the lawsuit in February 2023 after Rush allegedly refused to refund an amount of over $200,000 that the couple claimed to have paid for a 2018 Titanic shipwreck tour that never took place, The Independent reported.

After news broke that all five persons onboard Titan, including Rush, died after the submersible went missing following a “catastrophic implosion”, the couple decided to drop the lawsuit, citing the “honour, respect and dignity” of the victims, the report said.

"As has been reported, we have been involved in a legal dispute with Stockton Rush, CEO/Founder of OceanGate. In light of these tragic events, we have informed our attorneys to withdraw all legal actions against Stockton," Fox35 quoted the couple as saying. “Like most around the world, we have watched the coverage of the OceanGate Titan capsule with great concern and enormous amount of sadness and compassion for the families of those who lost their lives,” the Hagles said in a statement sent to Fox 35.

Sharon, the founder and CEO of SpaceKids Global, and Marc, who is the president and CEO of Tricor International, a residential and commercial property development corporation, were among the six passengers who travelled to space when Blue Origin conducted its New Shepard (NS-20) mission, the Jeff Bezos-led space venture's fourth human flight.

Why The Hagles Sued Stockton Rush

While Marc and Sharon Hagle filed the lawsuit in Orange County only in February this year, the issue dates back around seven years. According to the Independent report, the couple had entered into a contract in November 2016 to participate in a deep-sea dive on OceanGate’s "Cyclops 2" vessel, and paid a deposit of $20,000. While they were scheduled to pay two additional payments by October 2017 and February 2018, the Hagles requested for a refund by mid-2017 when they started to suspect that the dive would be delayed, the Fox35 report said. 

OceanGate had reportedly assured the couple of paying a refund in the event of a delay.

The Independent reported that Rush visited the couple’s Florida home in September 2017 to convince them that the trip was not being cancelled. The couple also claimed that Rush described “what could be expected during the adventure”.

In January 2018, the Fox35 report said, the couple received new contracts that required them to pay the full amount for the trip aboard the submersible, now called ‘Titan’, totalling around $200,000. 

Subsequent expeditions planned by OceanGate kept getting cancelled, the couple claimed in the lawsuit, adding that they requested a refund again in June 2019 of the deposit of $210,258 they had paid for two berths on the Titan. OceanGate reportedly told them that they could get the money only if they participated in a July 2021 expedition. 

They also alleged that OceanGate failed to hold the amount in a separate escrow account as promised.