9th Circ. Keeps Herschend Unit In Suit Over Fatal Boat Crash

By Jonathan Capriel (January 18, 2022, 8:03 PM EST) — The Ninth Circuit has overturned theme park giant Herschend Family Entertainment Corp.’s win against Ride the Ducks Seattle LLC, which claims the corporation deceived the local company when it sold a faulty amphibious vehicle, a “duck boat,” which swerved into traffic causing a deadly crash in 2015.

The three-judge panel ruled on Friday that Herschend can’t rely on a waiver agreement penned with the Puget Sound-based tour company to escape the lawsuit.

“The district court concluded that the waiver agreement ‘insulates both sides from all further claims arising out of the September 2015 accident,'” the panel said. “But the language of…