JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is defending his lawsuit against the operators of a duck boat that sank in July, killing 17 people.

In August, Hawley filed suit accusing Branson Duck Vehicles and Ripley Entertainment Inc. of violating Missouri’s consumer protection law and putting profits above safety, citing the July 19 accident on Table Rock Lake near Branson.

The companies responded by seeking dismissal, calling Hawley’s lawsuit “irresponsible” and “littered with factual inaccuracies and innuendo.”

In a filing on Monday, Hawley’s office said the companies are trying to delay state enforcement actions and evade any court order that would stop them from resuming operation.

Hawley is a Republican who also is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill.