Google co-founder Sergey Brin is facing a mounting legal battle following a fatal plane crash in May 2023. The crash, which occurred off the California coast, claimed the lives of two pilots flying a plane owned by Brin. The tragedy has led to a second lawsuit, intensifying the legal issues surrounding Brin and his associates.
The new lawsuit, filed in July 2024, comes from the family of Dean Rushfeldt, one of the pilots who perished in the crash. The lawsuit accuses Brin, his family office Bayshore Global, Google, and other related entities of negligence. The Rushfeldt family alleges that crucial errors in the aircraft’s maintenance, including improper installation of a fuel bladder, contributed to the crash. They claim the plane, which was flying from Santa Rosa, California, to Honolulu, ran out of fuel about 30 miles offshore due to these mistakes.
This lawsuit follows a similar legal action filed in February 2024 by the widow of Lance Maclean, the co-pilot who also died in the incident. Both lawsuits assert that negligence in the plane's maintenance and equipment installation was a major factor in the crash. The Rushfeldt family’s suit includes a serious accusation of "tortious interference with a dead body," alleging that Brin and his team failed to recover Rushfeldt’s remains despite promising to do so.
In response to the earlier suit from Maclean’s widow, Brin’s legal team has sought to dismiss the case on various grounds, including claims of federal law preemption. As a result, Google and one defendant have been removed from the case.
Despite stepping back from his role at Google in 2019, Brin has recently been in the spotlight again, working on Google's Gemini AI model and appearing at company events. The outcome of these ongoing lawsuits could have significant implications for Brin and his business ventures, though it remains uncertain how the legal proceedings will unfold.