SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A federal judge has ruled that an 1851 maritime law does not protect a company from having to make payments to families of people who died in the sinking of a tourist boat in a Missouri lake.
After the July 2018 sinking at Table Rock Lake near Branson in which 17 people died, many lawsuits were filed against Ride the Ducks International, which owned the boat before Ripley Entertainment bought it.
The two companies asked U.S. District Judge Doug Harpool last year to find the 1851 Shipowners Limitation of Liability Act meant damage claims could be capped at no more than the value of the sunken boat, which is zero dollars.
The Springfield News-Leader reported that Harpool ruled that the law doesn't apply, in part because Table Rock Lake is not considered a "navigable waterway" under federal law.
A spokeswoman for Ripley Entertainment declined last week to comment on the ruling.
Seventeen people died July 19, 2018, when the amphibious passenger vehicle -- commonly known as a "duck boat" -- sank in Table Rock Lake after a strong storm blew in and capsized the vessel. Two Arkansans -- Steve Smith 53, and his 15-year-old son Lance, both of Osceola -- were among the casualties. Steve Smith's daughter, Loren, who was 14 at the time, was among the 14 survivors.
Storm warnings had been issued before the duck boat entered the water. The National Weather Service station in Springfield, about 40 miles north of Branson, issued a severe-thunderstorm watch earlier in the day for its immediate area, saying conditions called for winds of 70 mph. The service followed up at 6:32 p.m. with a severe-thunderstorm warning for three counties that included Branson and the lake. The warning mentioned both locations.
The boat went down about 40 minutes later, shortly after 7 p.m. Waves were over 5 feet tall as the boat tried to maneuver through the water.
Video taken from a dock showed the boat wallowing through the choppy, wind-whipped lake, with water only inches from its windows and dark, rolling waves crashing over its front end before the boat capsizes.
Originally known as DUKW boats, the amphibious vehicles were used by the U.S. military in World War II and the Korean War and were later modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.
State Desk on 12/08/2019