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JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Attorney General Joshua Hawley has filed a lawsuit against the owners and operators of a duck boat involved in a fatal crash to stop them from operating or selling the amphibious passenger vehicles in the future.
Hawley filed a petition on Aug. 31, in the Circuit Court of Taney County, Missouri, against defendants Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment Inc., alleging violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA).
Named as defendants are the owners and operators of the Table Rock Lake Adventure, a duck boat tour. On July 19, a duck boat touring Table Rock Lake sank during a thunderstorm, killing 17 people who drowned.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley
Hawley, citing a lengthy history of duck boat-related deaths, incidents and safety concerns, filed the complaint that called for an injunction against the defendants from engaging in any act of “trade or commerce” related to the operation or sale of the amphibious passenger vessels.
The filing also asks for full restitution to consumers who suffered loss, civil penalties, reasonable attorneys’ costs as well as “an amount of money equal to 10% of the total restitution ordered against the Defendants.”
According to the filing, the passengers of the July duck boat accident were “not advised to don their life jackets by their Captain nor any crew member when clearly hazardous conditions existed.
“Defendants acted wantonly, willfully, outrageously and with reckless disregard for the consequences of their actions,” Hawley stated in the filing.
“Defendants have been on notice for decades of ongoing safety hazards that posed a present and deadly danger to every person who boarded a duck boat,” said the Missouri Attorney General. “Defendants kept that information from passengers and made false promises, fraudulent statements and misrepresentations to consumers that safety was their top priority when in actuality it was their own profits.”
Six counts alleging violations under the MMPA were filed, including False Promises against all defendants, material omission, deception, fraud and unfair practices.
Originally used as military vessels for combat during World War II, the amphibious vehicles carried military cargo and two drivers. According to the filing, they “were not designed to accommodate commercial passengers or to provide for their safety or evacuation.”