We may still find out. Although they have suspended all business OceanGate still technically exists and his wife was an executive in the business. While the “crew members” signed waivers, my understanding is that will not hold up if there was gross negligence and I think that can legally be argued with some chance of success. Lawsuits may still happen.
All that would accomplish is to move operations to some see-no-evil jurisdiction – a bit inconvenient because of the greater distance, but not really difficult.
Heck, the gross negligence could be successfully argued by Alana Habba.
But not if there aren’t any assets worth pursuing, right? Where are the deep pockets to justify the expense of a lawsuit?
“Deep Pockets”… Oh, that’s cold!
At various times, the publicity materials from OceanGate said that they were working with Boeing and NASA.
If true, and contributory negligence can be shown, those are deep pockets.
Boeing has denied any involvement whatsoever. Rush once claimed that he bought expired carbon fiber from Boeing (i.e., past the shelf life for what they’d use in an airplane) at a discount. Boeing denies any sale to OceanGate. If any aspect of that is true (one wonders), then Rush probably bought the expired CF from some third-party, and that’s what he was spinning into “working with Boeing.”
I’ve got Goodyear tires on my car. That doesn’t mean that I’m “working with Goodyear”; it simply means that I bought the tires from a third party (a tire shop), which installed and balanced them.
If Rush tried to play up “I’m working with Boeing” when all he did was to buy Boeing parts from a third party, the same way I bought my tires, then he really was selling something that wasn’t true.
Fair points, but that is what civil litigation can determine. I was responding to the question whether there were any deep pockets. General rule of civil lit is to name all possible defendants, for whom there is some possible link, and then use civil lit process to determine if there is potential liability.
In Spoons’ example, Goodyear’s potential liability isn’t based on contract but on potential manufacturers liability for defective products. Is there a similar argument here about the source of the carbon laminate? Dunno. But that’s something that a plaintiff may wish to consider.
Sue 'em all. Let (the courtroom’s) god sort them out. Or something like that, but it sounds so much better (and more billable) rendered in Latin.
Or so said my late wife the attorney. 
The recent Wired article shows that OceanGate hired two engineers that worked (and still do) at Boeing for some early design work. There was also the same out of the University of Washington. All of it was tossed aside because a concern for safety was built into the work.
Well, sure - that just slows things down and costs more. Can’t be agile if obstructionists in engineering are whining about “safety” all the time.
No worries, Boeing engineers are used to being ignored by management.
It was a year ago today that the Titan submersible imploded. 18 Jun 2023.
The first lawsuit has been filed, by the estate of Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Seeking $50 million in damages.
It argues Rush used carbon fiber for the craft’s hull, a material not previously used in submersibles; that he refused certification that could have provided the outside expertise that could have prevented the tragedy; and that those aboard most likely would have known they were about to die.
The article says they’re suing OceanGate, the estate of Stockton Rush, and other companies. I’m assuming Boeing is not listed in the suit, since they certainly would have been called out by name in the article if they were.
All of this was public knowledge before the Titan imploded (ref: the Unsung Science podcast episode released 8 months before the sub went squish). I’m wondering why it took so long for the first lawsuit to be filed.
Paperwork. It takes a lot of paperwork to justify $50M.
Probably also waiting for the various insurance companies to officially deny stuff so there’s a context for the litigation.
Plus, researching the jurisdiction and the applicable law. Where is the best place to sue, for a case that has aspects of maritime law, negligence law, and insurance law?
I’ve seen complex cases where the claim is only filed a week or so before the filing deadline, because plaintiffs’ counsel are carefully researching the legal framework they are going to rely on, and want to be sure about jurisdiction and legal issues, so their claim properly advances the best case possible.
Yes but if nothing happened yet, who would have standing to bring a suit? The first thing a judge would ask is “how was the plaintiff harmed by the defendant?”