Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Titanic submersible lost at sea raises legal questions for high-risk businesses
NBC ^ | 6/22/23 | Tom Wile

Posted on 06/22/2023 11:40:24 AM PDT by DallasBiff

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-62 next last
To: DallasBiff

Dare-devils - like the poor - will always be with us. This event is a tragedy, but where would we be without people willing to take risks in the name of progress?


41 posted on 06/22/2023 2:29:32 PM PDT by Churchillspirit (Pray for President Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DallasBiff

Would Lloyd’s of London underwrite this?


42 posted on 06/22/2023 2:31:53 PM PDT by GingisK
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: fightin kentuckian

Exactly.šŸ™„


43 posted on 06/22/2023 2:34:45 PM PDT by BiteYourSelf ( Earth first, we'll strip mine the other planets later.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Revel
Since they lied about it being capable of going to 4000 meters then any waiver is going to be worthless

Possibly, but it depends on the wording. Express warranties can be disclaimed. Depending on the jurisdiction such a disclaimer is not effective for bodily injury owners wrongful death. Regardless, i don't think any of these high net worth individuals' estates will file suit and expose themselves to discovery.

44 posted on 06/22/2023 2:35:07 PM PDT by frithguild (The warmth and goodness of Gaia is a nuclear reactor in the Earth's core that burns Thorium)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: DallasBiff

Who cares? They paid 250K each knowing full well what might happen. It’s expensive because it’s risky and dangerous.


45 posted on 06/22/2023 2:37:36 PM PDT by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: P-Marlowe

Or be assassinated .šŸ¤”


46 posted on 06/22/2023 2:37:56 PM PDT by BiteYourSelf ( Earth first, we'll strip mine the other planets later.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Brooklyn Attitude

Very informative!


47 posted on 06/22/2023 2:54:00 PM PDT by quilterdebbie (We will endeavor to persevere!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: P-Marlowe
A negligence waiver is not effective against gross negligence or criminal negligence.

Ordinary negligence and gross negligence are the same save for a vituperative epithet. Basically it is not as facile as you're making this out to be because different jurisdictions apply the substantive law diffetently. Nonetheless, if I were defending this company against a state court action, I would remove it to federal court based upon admiralty jurisdiction. In an admiralty case, a pre-accident waiver absolves a defendant of liability for recreational activities on navigable waters if the exculpatory clause is (1) clear and unambiguous; (2) is not inconsistent with public policy; and (3) is not an adhesion contract. Thus the flavor or degree of negligence is not the issue in an admiralty case.

48 posted on 06/22/2023 3:01:42 PM PDT by frithguild (The warmth and goodness of Gaia is a nuclear reactor in the Earth's core that burns Thorium)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: DouglasKC
Who cares? They paid 250K each knowing full well what might happen. Itā€™s expensive because itā€™s risky and dangerous.

I've gone on many fly in fishing trips in Canada. The risks are plane crashes during travel to and from the outpost and equipment failures while on the lake. We never had to sign anything. We paid by check or cash...

49 posted on 06/22/2023 3:14:25 PM PDT by EVO X ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: frithguild

Actually, I may be wrong on this:

Furthermore, an exculpatory clause is enforceable if it is not ā€œplainly inconsistent with public policy.ā€ Id. at 689. In addition, both admiralty law and New Jersey law provide that exculpatory clauses which disclaim liability for conduct beyond negligence or carelessness are inconsistent with public policy. See Charnis, 2009 WL 2581699, at *5 (noting that ā€œ[u]nder federal maritime law [ ], owners of recreational boats may disclaim liability for negligence, but they may not do so for gross negligenceā€ and that ā€œ[g]ross negligence goes beyond ordinary negligence and is the willful, wanton, or reckless infliction of harmā€ (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)); see also Stelluti, 1 A.3d at 694-95 (applying New Jersey law and stating that defendant ā€œcould not exculpate itself from [ ] reckless or gross negligence,ā€ but could exculpate itself from ā€œinjuries sustained as a matter of negligenceā€)


50 posted on 06/22/2023 3:18:21 PM PDT by frithguild (The warmth and goodness of Gaia is a nuclear reactor in the Earth's core that burns Thorium)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: P-Marlowe

A lawsuit might be the least of their problems. Some form of homicide charge is possible if they knowingly deployed an unfit submersible.


51 posted on 06/22/2023 3:31:10 PM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: dforest

Idiotic is a mild term to describe people who are willing to go where the pressure is 400 freaking atmospheres.


52 posted on 06/22/2023 3:37:29 PM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: ryderann

Can you be sued for being stupid these days? Wouldn’t surprise me.


53 posted on 06/22/2023 3:47:32 PM PDT by mosaicwolf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: DallasBiff

No Gordon Lightfoot song for you!

54 posted on 06/22/2023 3:49:12 PM PDT by Joe 6-pack
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: frithguild

Never done Admiralty Law.

Frankly I doubt if this company has any assets or liability insurance. The passengers may have paid in advance and the checks deposited, but other than getting their money back, I donā€™t think the families have any recourse. And good luck with that.

You need money to go after money. If there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, then chasing rainbows is a fools errand.


55 posted on 06/22/2023 4:11:55 PM PDT by P-Marlowe (I got the <Ī™Ī§Ī˜Ī„Ī£>< variant. Catch it. John 3:16)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: P-Marlowe

It had no windows. What was the point? The same screen can be watched in your living room.


56 posted on 06/22/2023 5:22:13 PM PDT by xzins (Retired US Army chaplain. Support our troops by praying for their victory. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

I never saw the Titanic because I already knew the ending. I didn’t need the tear jerking stories.

Eventually there won’t be much left of it. I would have no desire to go look at it myself.

We can already see the new Hollywood sequel to the Titanic taking shape.


57 posted on 06/22/2023 5:32:58 PM PDT by dforest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: DallasBiff

Does it matter? The two dead billionaires going to sue another fellow dead man?


58 posted on 06/22/2023 5:34:36 PM PDT by dforest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: xzins

It had a port hole in the front.


59 posted on 06/22/2023 6:29:37 PM PDT by P-Marlowe (I got the <Ī™Ī§Ī˜Ī„Ī£>< variant. Catch it. John 3:16)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: dforest

Titanic 2 - Jack’s Revenge


60 posted on 06/22/2023 7:23:48 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-62 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson