In the St. Louis Record article, “Multiple investigations, and first suits, follow duck boat tragedy at Table Rock Lake,” Professor Sam Halabi commented about the process now that three lawsuits that have been filed.

On July 19, one of the boats from Ride the Ducks of Branson sank on Table Rock Lake during a storm, killing 17 people. Two lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City and a third suit was filed in Taney County Circuit Court in Missouri. All were filed on behalf of family members who lost loved ones. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Missouri Attorney General’s office also are investigating.

Professor Halabi said the multiple suits and investigations were expected, noting that there were previous cases in Philadelphia and Arkansas involving incidents with the same types of boats. He said that the previous lawsuits would provide judges with pre-existing information, “It could be persuasive, but any judge will be pretty free to decide what to admit.”