CEO of MannSat dismissed from US lawsuit

The Chief Executive of MannSat, Chris Stott, has been dismissed from a lawsuit which had been filed in the United States.

A woman from Houston in Texas had brought the case against Excalibur Exploration Chairman Arthur M. Dula and CEO J. Buckner Hightower.

Donna Beck alleged Mr Dula defrauded her and her late husband out of $300,000 by claiming his company had a ‘special rocket engine’ to ‘travel in space to a distant asteroid and mine precious metals’.

Mr Stott - who married NASA astronaut Nicole Stott at St Peters in Onchan - is a Director of Excalibur. His lawyers said claims against him had been "totally unfounded"

Ms Beck and her husband purchased an investment in Excalibur Exploration Limited, which she alleged was based on a ‘fundamental false representation’ about the company's technical expertise and associations and she went on to say the entire operation was a sham.

Ms Beck claimed Mr Dula, Mr Hightower and Mr Stott won the couple over in May 2006 when they hosted them during a commercial space flight convention on a cruise ship.

However, she has now filed an amended petition alleging that Mr Dula, Mr Hightower and their several related corporate entities misled both Mr. Stott and her.

In a statement she says "I now believe Mr Chris Stott is an honorable man and that he is innocent of any wrongdoing"