Titanic tourist sub goes missing in Atlantic Ocean, June 2023 #4

[ch_13]

Looks like Defendants are: OceanGate, Inc., The Estate of R.S Rush III, Tony Nissen, Electroimpact, Inc., Janicki Industries, Inc. and Hydrospace Group, Inc.

Tony Nissen was the head of engineering for OceanGate.

It looks like Electroimpact, Janicki Industries, and Hydrospace Group are all engineering/manufacturing firms. I would guess that they were involved in the design and/or construction of the Titan.

 

[ch_13]

Tony Nissen was the head of engineering for OceanGate.

It looks like Electroimpact, Janicki Industries, and Hydrospace Group are all engineering/manufacturing firms. I would guess that they were involved in the design and/or construction of the Titan.

I looked it up and Nissen actually left OceanGate in 2019 according to his LinkedIn. If I recall correctly, they rebuilt the Titan in 2020. Of course I don't know anything about the basis for their lawsuit, but to me it seems like they are on pretty shaky ground to pursue someone who only worked on the previous version and left four years before the implosion.

I wonder why they are suing this guy and not whoever took over the role after he left. Maybe no one did?

 

[NCWatcher]

I looked it up and Nissen actually left OceanGate in 2019 according to his LinkedIn. If I recall correctly, they rebuilt the Titan in 2020. Of course I don't know anything about the basis for their lawsuit, but to me it seems like they are on pretty shaky ground to pursue someone who only worked on the previous version and left four years before the implosion.

I wonder why they are suing this guy and not whoever took over the role after he left. Maybe no one did?

I don't know if the role was filled or there was was any "shuffling" as is sometimes seen in smaller companies. But Nissan is alive. I'm not an attorney but (cynically) I think a lawsuit that contains some live defendants, people who may be frantic about losing everything, may be easier to win against than when all the defendants are
dead. Estates don't respond the way living defendants may.
But that's entirely JMO.

 

[LinasK]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/08/us/titan-submersible-implosion-lawsuit/index.html

 

[PrairieWind]

Tony Nissen was the head of engineering for OceanGate.

It looks like Electroimpact, Janicki Industries, and Hydrospace Group are all engineering/manufacturing firms. I would guess that they were involved in the design and/or construction of the Titan.

The Complaint states that Electroimpact laid the carbon fibers used for Titan's hull, and Janicki Industries cured the material in its ovens. Hydrospace manufactured the acrylic viewport. The case against them stems mostly in a product liability framework. I think those will be hard to prevail on or even survive summary judgment. Plaintiff will have to show how these items were defective in their production. Maybe they can claim that these companies were involved in the actual design of the sub? Not sure exactly what the claim is.
The Damages section also lists a Guillermo Sohnlein as liable, but he isn't listed in the caption or in the parties section, so I'm not sure who he is (he might be inadvertently included in that paragraph).

 

[MsMarple]

Sohnlein was the cofounder of OceanGate. I believe he parted ways with the company a few years back but I can’t say for sure.

 

[tarabull]

August 10, 2024​

Canada was 'highly confident' it heard man-made noises during search for Titan submersible, documents show​

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-search-titan-submersible-banging-sounds-1.7290441

 

[MsMarple]

A public hearing that will address the tragedy is scheduled to take place in September 2024. Until then, the MBI will continue its evidence analysis and witness interviews as part of the ongoing investigation.
…
Lahey recalls pleading with his long-time friend and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was killed in the incident, not to dive with OceanGate. "I tried to do everything I could to discourage him from going out there. I know many people that knew him did the same thing."
…
McCallum also discusses his now well-publicised email exchange with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who also died on the dive, warning him that he was courting disaster by taking the uncertified Titan submersible to such extreme depths.

"He was completely dismissive," McCallum says. "The minute I found out it was going to be an unclassed vehicle, that's when the alarm bells rang. But perhaps the biggest red flag of all was when a senior member of the OceanGate team wrote a report laying out the 26 or 27 things wrong with the sub and suggested solutions to those problems and he was silenced."

https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/oceangate-titan-disaster-implosion-lawsuit-latest-news-2023-submarine-submersible

A timeline of events is also in the link.

 

[musicaljoke]

A public hearing that will address the tragedy is scheduled to take place in September 2024. Until then, the MBI will continue its evidence analysis and witness interviews as part of the ongoing investigation.
…
Lahey recalls pleading with his long-time friend and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who was killed in the incident, not to dive with OceanGate. "I tried to do everything I could to discourage him from going out there. I know many people that knew him did the same thing."
…
McCallum also discusses his now well-publicised email exchange with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who also died on the dive, warning him that he was courting disaster by taking the uncertified Titan submersible to such extreme depths.

"He was completely dismissive," McCallum says. "The minute I found out it was going to be an unclassed vehicle, that's when the alarm bells rang. But perhaps the biggest red flag of all was when a senior member of the OceanGate team wrote a report laying out the 26 or 27 things wrong with the sub and suggested solutions to those problems and he was silenced."

https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/news/oceangate-titan-disaster-implosion-lawsuit-latest-news-2023-submarine-submersible

A timeline of events is also in the link.

Oh my goodness, what a waste. :/

 

[ch_13]

The Complaint states that Electroimpact laid the carbon fibers used for Titan's hull, and Janicki Industries cured the material in its ovens. Hydrospace manufactured the acrylic viewport. The case against them stems mostly in a product liability framework. I think those will be hard to prevail on or even survive summary judgment. Plaintiff will have to show how these items were defective in their production. Maybe they can claim that these companies were involved in the actual design of the sub? Not sure exactly what the claim is.
The Damages section also lists a Guillermo Sohnlein as liable, but he isn't listed in the caption or in the parties section, so I'm not sure who he is (he might be inadvertently included in that paragraph).

I wonder if they're going to try to claim that these companies knew that their products weren't fit for purpose and should never have been used on a submersible.

In any case, I expect that OceanGate is insolvent, so they probably just want to find some defendants with deep pockets.