In the United States District Court in Kansas City, a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] was filed Sunday over the July 19 Duck Boat accident in Branson, Missouri that killed 17. The families who brought the suit are seeking $100 million in damages.

The lawsuit alleges that the boat operators knew there were unsafe weather conditions for bringing the boat on the water, and failed to inform passengers of proper safety measures prior to the storm hitting the boat.

The lawsuit names Ripley Entertainment, Ride the Ducks International (RTDI), Ride the Ducks of Branson, the Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., and Amphibious Vehicle Manufacturing for knowing of design flaws made the boats more susceptible to sinking, but not failing to change them. 

“Representatives from RTDI were repeatedly told during the litigation that ensued of the dangers of their canopy design and the fact that engineering analysis established that the Duck Boat was defective and should not be in use,” the suit says.