Paul-Henri Nargeolet’s estate filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against OceanGate and other defendants in King County Superior Court on August 6, 2024, seeking damages exceeding $50 million. That figure is the amount demanded in the complaint—not money awarded or recovered. A federal judge later sent the case back to the county court, but the available sources do not establish its state-court status as of October 8, 2026.
Why Nargeolet’s estate sued OceanGate
Richard Ortoli, acting as administrator of the estate of Paul-Henri Louis Emile Nargeolet, filed the complaint after Nargeolet died aboard the Titan submersible. Titan imploded during a dive on June 18, 2023, killing all five people aboard. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation published its report on the disaster in August 2025; its investigative findings are distinct from the allegations and legal claims in the estate’s civil case. Read the Coast Guard report.
The complaint alleges that vessel flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed. It states: “Many of the particulars about the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed and were purposely concealed.” That is the plaintiff’s allegation, not a court finding.
What the complaint asks for
The complaint demands a jury trial and seeks damages exceeding $50 million, while saying the precise amount was not yet known. The demand is a request for relief, not a judgment, award, or settlement.
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It names OceanGate Inc., the Estate of R.S. Rush III, Tony Nissen, Electroimpact Inc., Janicki Industries Inc., and Hydrospace Group Inc. The estate asserts claims including:
- Unseaworthiness, wrongful death, negligence, and gross negligence under general maritime law.
- Claims under the Jones Act.
- Washington state products-liability and wrongful-death claims.
- Claims for pain and suffering before Nargeolet’s death.
These are pleaded claims. The complaint and subsequent remand order do not establish that any defendant is liable. GeekWire reported in August 2024 that Nargeolet had made more than 35 dives to the Titanic; that is attributed background reporting, not a finding in the court’s remand order. GeekWire’s report on the filing.
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Why the case returned to state court
The defendants removed the case to federal court. On January 31, 2025, U.S. District Judge Lauren King granted the plaintiff’s motion to remand and ordered the case returned to King County Superior Court. The federal clerk was directed to close the federal action.
That order resolved a procedural dispute about where the case would proceed. It did not decide the merits of the wrongful-death claims or determine liability. Read the federal remand order.
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What is known about the case’s status
The remand order establishes that the case was returned to King County Superior Court in January 2025. The sources available here do not verify the state-court docket through October 8, 2026. They therefore do not establish a current trial date, settlement, dismissal, or final outcome. King County provides access guidance for Superior Court records, but that general guidance is not a case-specific update. Consult King County’s Superior Court records information.
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