No liability in river deaths

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and its employees are not liable for the tragic drowning deaths of two young men in the Murderkill River, a federal judge ruled. The men’s mother argued that the department’s dredging and jetty construction operation caused a change in the tidal flow, resulting in dangerous conditions for recreational swimmers. Although the “state-created danger doctrine” allows recovery against state officials, there must be evidence that they “acted with a degree of culpability that shocks the conscience,” which was not present in this case.