Throughout the trial, Plattenberger presented compelling evidence, including haunting photos of child-sized footprints in the mud on the pool’s exterior—Ellieanna’s last marks before she tragically slipped into the water.
Bestway’s Defense Falls Flat
Bestway attempted to challenge the evidence, arguing that the prints were mere circumstantial clues and insufficient to prove how Ellieanna entered the pool. In a motion for summary judgment, the company dismissed the theory as speculative, claiming the footprints were “hardly probative.”
During the trial, Bestway even criticized the evidence’s validity, stating that the parents had failed to “measure” the prints. Plattenberger was quick to call out the absurdity of this argument: “This is a classic example of nonsense. Only a lawyer could try to make something so obvious sound complicated. I think the defense lost credibility with this argument—no one else was struggling to see what was tragically clear.”
A Legal Battle Fraught with Accusations
The Justice family initially filed suit in January 2022, naming not only Bestway but also Rural King Holdings LLP, the farm supply retailer where the pool was purchased. Rural King, however, distanced itself from the case under Missouri’s Innocent Seller statute, which shields retailers from liability in cases where the fault lies with the manufacturer.
