Hawley files lawsuit, urging court to stop Branson duck boats from operating in Missouri
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BRANSON NEWS: JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has filed a petition, urging court officials to enjoin the companies behind Branson’s duck boats from operating in Missouri.
A Branson duck boat is pulled from the bottom of Table Rock Lake on July 23, 2018, after sinking and killing 17 people.
The petition was filed Friday in the Circuit Court of Taney County against Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment. Hawley’s office argues the companies violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
On July 19, seventeen people were killed when a Branson duck boat sank on Table Rock Lake during a severe thunderstorm.
“This tragedy should not have happened,” Hawley said in a news release. “As Missouri’s top law enforcement officer, I am charged with protecting Missouri consumers. My hope is that this lawsuit will ensure that unsafe duck boats and companies who put profits ahead of safety will not continue to operate. Consumers have a reasonable expectation of safety and that was not met on July 19.”
The petition argues the companies ignored life jacket requirements and weather warnings.
Hawley’s petition says the companies 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. Defendants kept that information from passengers and made false promises, fraudulent statements, and misrepresentations to consumers that safety was a top priority when in actuality it was their own profits.”
Photo of one of the Ride The Ducks Branson boats trying to get back to the dock as storms roll in on Thursday, July 19, 2018.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors filed a motion, saying the U.S. Coast Guard found probable cause in its investigation that the tragedy “resulted from the misconduct, negligence, or inattention to the duties” by the captain of the boat.
The …
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