SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The U.S. Coast Guard found probable cause to believe the captain in last month's duck boat tragedy on Table Rock Lake in Branson committed "misconduct, negligence or inattention to duties," according to recent court filings.
The U.S. attorney's office filed motions Wednesday to delay the discovery process in the civil lawsuits filed against the operators of a duck boat that sank on July 19, killing 17 passengers.
Discovery is the legal process in which defendants and plaintiffs share evidence.
In their motion, federal prosecutors say that trading evidence back and forth in the civil cases could interfere with their criminal investigation into the duck boat operators.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri says it got involved in the case on Aug. 13 after the Coast Guard found probable cause the sinking of the duck boat "resulted from the misconduct, negligence or inattention to the duties of the captain of the vessel."
The Coast Guard also found probable cause the captain of another duck boat that made it back to shore during a thunderstorm that evening, acted in a "grossly negligent manner," according to the filing.
Federal prosecutors say they are worried the subjects of their criminal investigation will "abuse the mechanisms of civil discovery to circumvent the limitations on discovery in criminal prosecutions." Prosecutors said they are worried about civil discovery giving their suspects a chance to see the evidence too early and "coordinate their defenses."
To date, there have been at least three lawsuits filed in the Western District of Missouri against the duck boat operators, including Ripley Entertainment, which owned the operation.
There have been additional lawsuits filed in state court. It's unclear how this federal action might affect that litigation.
No one has been charged criminally in connection with the duck boat sinking.
Prosecutors want to delay, or stay, discovery in the civil cases until the "criminal investigation and any directly related criminal proceedings are resolved."
Prosecutors say their case should take precedence over the civil cases due to the public's interest in resolving questions of criminal culpability.
Prosecutors say their investigation is "wide-ranging" and includes parties named in the civil lawsuits and parties not named in the civil lawsuits — including Kenneth McKee, captain of the boat that sank, and Barry King, captain of the boat that made it back to shore.
A judge will have to rule on the government's motion.
In civil lawsuits, attorneys have claimed the duck boat operators ignored weather warnings and did not heed calls to change the design of the boats after a similar tragedy in 1999 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
