Christian Woman Outraged Companies Invoked 1851 Law to Deny Liability in Duck Boat Tragedy
Tia Coleman, a Christian woman who lost nine family members this summer in a boating accident in Branson, Missouri, is outraged that two companies facing multiple lawsuits over the accident have invoked an 1851 law used by vessel owners to avoid or limit legal damages.
Lawyers for Coleman, who lost her husband and three children in the tragedy that claimed 17 lives, told the Indy Star, that the companies, Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment, cited the 1851 maritime law in a federal court filing in Missouri on Monday.
The companies argue in the filing that negligence did not cause the boat to sink. If a court does find negligence, however, their liability, the companies say, is zero because "the Vessel was a total loss and has no current value. No freight was pending on the Vessel."
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If a judge accepts this application of the law, claims for damages stemming from the July 19 accident on Table Rock Lake could be consolidated into a single federal court case, according to the Associated Press.
Coleman and her legal team told the Indy Star that the move by the companies was "callous and calculated."
"Ripley's legal claim that my husband and children are worthless is incredibly hurtful and insensitive," Coleman said in a statement. "Anyone who cares about people or has any human decency should boycott Ripley and their attractions."
Ripley spokeswoman Suzanne Smagala-Potts told AP that the filing made Monday is "common in claims related to maritime incidents." The move, she said, was simply to delay the multiple court cases to give the parties time for mediation.
"We have reached out to those most impacted by the accident and offered to mediate their claims now," Smagala-Potts said in a statement. "Mediation often leads to faster resolution and allows those affected to avoid a lengthy process of litigation, and most importantly, begin the healing process."
Robert J. Mongeluzzi, one of Coleman's lawyers, told the Indy Star that "Ripley's inhuman legal ploy will sink as fast as their death trap duck boat did. We will legally and factually demolish this frivolous claim."
Coleman was one of 31 people touring Table Rock Lake on a Ride the Ducks Branson amphibious vessel when the craft was overwhelmed by water whipped up by a fast-moving thunderstorm and began to sink.
"I couldn't see anybody, I couldn't hear anything," Coleman told KOLR10. "I couldn't hear screams, it felt like I was out there on my own. And I was yelling, screaming, and finally, I said Lord, just let me die, let me die, I can't keep drowning, I just can't keep drowning. And then I just let go."
Coleman survived but lost her family members instead. One federal lawsuit is seeking $100 million in damages on behalf of two of her deceased family members.
Ripley owns the Ride the Ducks operation on Table Rock Lake, while Branson Duck Vehicles owned the boats, according to AP.
The lawsuit alleges that boat operators violated the company's policies by continuing with the ride despite the weather warnings and failed to tell passengers to put on life jackets when the water got rough. The boat's driver instead lowered plastic side curtains, which further trapped passengers, according to the lawsuit.
An August 2017 report from a private inspector cited in the lawsuit also warned Ripley Entertainment that the vessels' engines — and pumps that remove water from their hulls — were susceptible to failing in bad weather.
