Missouri AG sues Ride the Ducks in Branson, alleging company tried to avoid refunds
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley added to the mounting legal problems facing the owner of Ride the Ducks in Branson by filing a lawsuit on Friday accusing the company of deceit and fraud by “targeting” tourists to ride boats that weren’t safe.
Hawley’s office says in a 29-page complaint that Ripley Entertainment, which bought the Branson operation of Ride the Ducks in late 2017, knew its duck boats had design problems and still took 29 passengers out onto Table Rock Lake on July 19, despite the threat of severe weather, in order to avoid paying refunds.
One of the duck boats succumbed to a thunderstorm that produced wind in excess of 70 miles per hour — more than twice the wind speeds that the boats are designed to handle — sinking the vessel to the depths of the lake. Of the 31 people aboard, including the boat’s captain and driver, 17 died.
Hawley’s lawsuit alleges violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which forbids fraud and deception in the sale of goods and services. Hawley’s office previously disclosed that it opened a criminal investigation under the same act, but in Friday’s lawsuit opted to seek civil penalties and restitution against Ripley Entertainment.
“This tragedy should not have happened,” Hawley said in a statement. “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.”
July’s tragedy was the deadliest duck boat incident since the 1999 sinking of a duck boat on an Arkansas lake that killed 13 passengers. In the years that followed, the National Transportation Safety Board made several recommendations to improve safety on the World War II-era vehicles, including backup buoyancy to avoid or delay sinking and getting rid of overhead canopies that can trap passengers in a sinking vessel.
Few of those recommendations have been adopted by the duck boat industry, and the U.S. Coast Guard and Congress have not turned those recommendations into requirements.
Ripley Entertainment officials were not immediately available for comment on Friday, but a spokeswoman with the company did respond to The Star on Thursday regarding the tragedy.
“As we have from the beginning of the investigation into July’s tragic accident, we continue to fully cooperate with federal and state authorities,” said Suzanne Smagala-Potts in an email. “We are providing all documentation and materials requested in the case. However, as a party to the ongoing NTSB investigation, we are refrained from commenting to the media on the matters being investigated.”
Hawley’s office is the latest legal headache for Ride the Ducks in Branson. The company has been sued by survivors and several families of passengers who perished last month.
A separate criminal inquiry is being conducted by federal prosecutors in Missouri. Earlier this week, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri asked for a halt in civil discovery proceedings while it conducts its criminal probe.
Hawley’s office accused Ripley Entertainment of marketing the duck boat tours to passengers with advertisements that claimed the vessels were “fun for all ages,” were safe and regularly inspected and held to “the highest safety standards in the automotive and marine industries.”
The complaint also says that Ripley Entertainment said the duck boats only resembled the vehicles originally used for transporting military cargo in World War II.
The duck boat that sank — called Stretch Duck 07 — traces its origins back to 1944, when it was originally manufactured in Pontiac, Mich. Hawley’s lawsuit also claims that an inspector identified mechanical issues with Stretch Duck 07 before Ripley Entertainment bought it in 2017, but that the boat was never redesigned.
Stretch Duck 07 went out on Table Rock Lake the evening of July 19 after a severe thunderstorm warning for the area was issued.
The duck boat tours in Branson usually start on land, but Hawley’s complaint said the usual course of the tour was altered that day to start on water “so that the ‘Adventure’ would be complete and no refunds would have to be provided” despite the approaching storm.
According to a recent report by the NTSB, the captain and driver were on board at 6:28 that evening when someone stepped onto the back of the boat and told the crew to take the water portion of the tour first. It isn’t known who that person is. The driver, whose job is to steer the duck boat on land, died in the sinking.
Moreover, passengers were not required to put on life jackets on Stretch Duck 07, and its captain, Kenneth McKee, told passengers they would not need the jackets, according to witness accounts.
McKee and Barry King, the captain of another duck boat on the water at the same time but that did not sink, have been identified as “targets” of the criminal investigation.
This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 4:15 PM.