The families of 15 victims who lost their lives in the July flooding at Camp Mystic in central Texas have filed a lawsuit against the camp, alleging gross negligence.
One of the lawsuits, submitted to the District Court in Travis County, Texas, by the parents of campers Margaret Bellows, Lyla Bonner, Molly DeWitt, Laney Landry, and Blakely McCrory, along with counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo, accuses the owners, the Eastland family, of prioritizing property over camper and counselor safety.
The lawsuit claims that the Eastland family, in charge of the camp since 1939, was aware of the flash flood risks due to the camp’s location near the Guadalupe River and historical flooding events from 1932, 1978, 1985, and 1987.
Furthermore, it alleges that the camp owners failed to adequately respond to a flash flood warning from the National Weather Service issued at 1:14 a.m. local time, neglecting to secure camping equipment or effectively alert campers and counselors to evacuate their cabins.
The flood that hit the Texas Hill Country on July 4 resulted in at least 136 deaths, including 25 campers and two counselors from Camp Mystic.
In addition, the families of campers Virginia Naylor, Hadley Hanna, Virginia Hollis, Jane Hunt, Lucy Dillon, and Kellyanne Lytal have also joined the lawsuit against the camp. An attorney representing these families confirmed the filing via email.
Separate lawsuits have also been filed by the families of campers Eloise Peck and Ellen Getten in Travis County.
The Peck family’s lawsuit argues that they were warned about flooding risks at the camp, noting that many of the severely damaged cabins were situated in areas identified as high-risk by FEMA.
They claim the tragedy was “foreseeable and preventable,” and assert that the camp was more concerned about its “reputational and financial interests” than the lives of the victims.
The lawsuit from the families of Bellows, Bonner, DeWitt, Landry, McCrory, Childress, and Ferruzzo seeks $1 million in damages, a request mirrored by the Peck family’s suit.
The Hill has reached out to Mikal Watts, the attorney representing Camp Mystic, for a comment on the lawsuits. Earlier in September, the camp announced plans to reopen its Cypress Lake location next summer, while stating that its Guadalupe River site would remain closed.
