Due to the catastrophic Titan submersible's implosion last week, while examining the Titanic wreck, a Florida couple who had sued OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush have withdrawn their case.
One of the five people killed aboard the sinking submarine was Rush. Marc and Sharon Hagle filed a lawsuit against Rush in February, alleging the OceanGate CEO had failed to pay them $210,000 for a deep-sea excursion they had paid for in 2018, despite his repeated cancellations of the voyage.
However, the Hagles decided to dismiss their lawsuit after Rush's passing, along with those of British entrepreneur Hamish Harding, French naval veteran PH Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son Suleman, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The couple told Fox 35, "Like most around the world, we have watched the coverage of the OceanGate Titan capsule with great concern and an enormous amount of sadness and compassion for the families of those who lost their lives." They continued that they had withdrawn all legal actions against Rush, and they said that they would honor their zest for life and commitment to ocean exploration.
Read also: Cultural Observers Find Jokes, Memes About OceanGate Titan Tragedy Sickening, Reeks of Schadenfreude
The Reason Behind the Case
The Hagles are real estate tycoons from Orlando who enjoy extreme sports. They launched aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin spacecraft last year, realizing a "lifelong dream" of theirs to see space.
As early as 2016, the couple made an initial $20,000 deposit for a diving excursion with OceanGate. Then, in 2018, the couple got contracts directing them to pay the expedition's cost in full, which is close to $200,000.
However, according to the pair, Rush's organization allegedly refused to return their money when they asked for it after canceling a number of planned dives.
The Hagles decided to dismiss their case against Rush and OceanGate in light of the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible last week, saying that "honor, respect, and dignity" were more essential to mankind than money. Instead, they extended their condolences to the families of the victims.
The five crew members of the Titan submarine were identified as dead last week after a week-long search. In a news briefing on Thursday, the US Coast Guard declared that the tail cone and further pieces of the lost submersible were discovered by a remotely operated vehicle about 1,600 feet from the front of the Titanic, confirming the deaths of all five crew members.
The Titan Submersible
On June 18, at 8 a.m., the Titan sank some 400 miles southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, not far from the well-known Titanic shipwreck, which is buried 12,500 feet beneath the surface of the water.
It lost touch with its mothership, the Polar Prince, around 9:45 am, or one hour and forty-five minutes after it set out, but it wasn't reported missing to the Coastguard until 5:40 pm, or almost eight hours later.
On Sunday, the US Navy found an implosion-like acoustic signature in the vicinity of the dive ship. The US Coast Guard is not hopeful of finding the bodies of the tourists because the location is "a very unforgiving environment," and the tourists would have perished instantly after the catastrophic collapse of the ship.
Related article: Titan Submersible: OceanGate CEO's Wife Wendy Rush Related to Famous Titanic Victims
