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Ride the Ducks Seattle is suing its parent company, Ride the Ducks International (RTDI), claiming the company knew about a defect in their duck boats, which led to the deadly 2015 crash on the Aurora Bridge.
>> PHOTOS: Ride the Ducks vehicle, bus crash
The lawsuit stated that the parent company manufactured the amphibious vehicles known as Stretch Ducks. According to the lawsuit, around 2003-2004, RTDI experienced front axle housing failures on Stretch Ducks, and it concluded that the front axle housing contained a weak point – a defect.
The company found a way to fix the weak point, the tab, but RTDI did not tell future buyers about the defect, the tab or the axle housing failures and did not report the defect to government regulators, the lawsuit claimed.
>> RELATED: Driver of Ride the Ducks vehicle: 'It's been sheer hell'
According to the lawsuit, in 2004, RTDI sold a Stretch Duck to Ride the Ducks Seattle but didn't inform them about the defect in the Stretch Duck front axle housings.
Over the years, the parent company sold several Stretch Ducks to Ride the Ducks Seattle without disclosure of the defects, the lawsuit alleged.
In 2013, RTDI experienced two more front axle housing failures and both had the tab remedy, court documents said. RTDI concluded the tab was insufficient but it didn't consult engineers to create a new remedy, and did not report the failures, known defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or conduct a recall. It also didn't inform buyers of the defect.
>>RELATED: Au pair injured in Ride the Ducks crash awarded $7 million, appeal to be dismissed
Ride the Ducks Seattle claimed in the lawsuit that the parent company sent a service bulletin to buys with a recommended modification for the front axle housing that utilized specialized components fabricated and sold only by them.
According to the lawsuit, the recommended repair was not approved by engineers and would not prevent axle housing failure.
>> RELATED: State and city settle lawsuits from Ride the Ducks crash
On Sept. 24, 2015, the left front axle housing of a Ride the Ducks Seattle boat failed, the lawsuit stated.
Five people were killed and more than 60 people were injured in the crash.
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