Duck boat operators criticize attorney general’s lawsuit

(AP) – The operators of a Missouri duck boat that sank in July, killing 17 people, say in a court filing that a lawsuit from Missouri’s attorney general is “irresponsible” and “littered with factual inaccuracies and innuendo.”

The lawsuit accuses Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment Inc. of violating Missouri’s consumer protection law and putting profits above safety. The suit seeks financial penalties. It also asks a judge to ban operation of the amphibious vehicle tours, though tours ceased after the July 19 accident on Table Rock Lake near Branson.

Attorneys for the companies, in a rebuttal filed Monday, seek dismissal of the lawsuit.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Josh Hawley called the rebuttal “a frivolous attempt … to evade responsibility for the deaths of 17 people.”