The families of nine victims who died during July’s catastrophic flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas filed lawsuits Monday, accusing the camp and its owners of negligence and “gross negligence” in how they managed flood risks.
All three suits were filed Monday in Travis County District Court in Austin.
One lawsuit was brought by the families of five campers and two counselors.
A second was filed by the family of Eloise “Lulu” Peck, an 8-year-old who died in the flood.
CNN reported that a third suit was filed by the family of 9-year-old camper Ellen Getten.
Each suit is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
The lawsuits alleged camp management knew of serious flooding dangers along the Guadalupe River, but failed to warn parents or protect campers, claiming the deaths of 25 campers and two counselors were preventable.
“The Camp chose to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins,” the 32-page multifamily lawsuit alleged.
“The Camp chose not to make plans to safely evacuate its campers and counselors from those cabins, despite state rules requiring evacuation plans, and not to spend time and money on safety training and tools.
“Instead, the Camp chose to assure its campers and counselors that these cabins are built on ‘high, safe locations.’ And the Camp chose to order its campers and counselors, as a matter of policy, to stay in these flood-plain cabins regardless of life-threatening floods.”
Attorney Paul Yetter, who is representing the families of the seven victims in the multifamily case, said the lawsuit was filed “to seek accountability and truth.”
“Camp Mystic failed at its primary job to keep its campers and counselors safe, and young girls died as a result,” he said in a news release, KXAN-TV reported.
“This action is about transparency, responsibility, and ensuring no other family experiences what these parents will now suffer the rest of their lives,” Yetter added.
The Peck lawsuit named camp owners Richard and Willetta “Tweety” Eastland, Camp Mystic, Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management, and Natural Fountains Properties as defendants.
George Eastland, Richard Eastland’s son, is named as the Eastland family’s representative; the elder Eastland died in the flooding.
The multifamily lawsuit named the same defendants, with the addition of Eastland’s other son, Edward, and his wife, Mary Liz. The Getten lawsuit also names the Eastlands, as well as Camp Mystic, as defendants.
“There is no greater trust than when a parent entrusts the care of their child to another,” the petition on behalf of the family of Lulu Peck stated.
“Camp Mystic and the people who ran it betrayed that trust. Camp Mystic’s shocking betrayal of that trust caused the horrific, tragic, and needless deaths of 27 innocent young girls, including Eloise ‘Lulu’ Peck.
“This case seeks accountability for that betrayal and to send a message to other camps — protect the kids in your care,” the petition stated.
Plaintiffs in the multifamily lawsuit are the families of Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Chloe Childress, Molly DeWitt, Katherine Ferruzzo, Lainey Landry, and Blakely McCrory, who died at Camp Mystic. Childress and Ferruzzo were counselors; the others were campers.
“Today, campers Margaret, Lila, Molly, Lainey, and Blakely should be third graders, and counselors Chloe and Katherine should be freshmen at the University of Texas. They all are gone,” the lawsuit stated.
Camp Mystic, which has been in the Eastland family since 1939, has a history of flooding.
The Peck lawsuit outlines three prior incidents in which floodwaters prompted evacuations, damaged buildings, or swept away personal items and vehicles belonging to campers and staff.
The Peck and multifamily complaints said Camp Mystic knew about those risks but still asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove the 100-year flood designation from some camp buildings.
The Peck lawsuit said FEMA amended flood maps in 2013, 2019, and 2020, taking camp-owned structures along the Guadalupe River and Cypress Lake out of the designated flood zone.
A 100-year flood designation means there is a 1% chance in any given year that a flood of that size will be equaled or exceeded at a particular location.
“Camp Mystic’s requests to amend the FEMA map were an attempt to hide this safety risk from the public including the campers and their parents, avoid the requirement to carry flood insurance, lower the camp’s insurance premiums, and pave the way for expanding structures under less costly regulations,” the Peck lawsuit stated, alleging the Eastland family and camp management put profits over the lives of campers.
The families told the court that Camp Mystic’s actions since the flood — announcing plans to reopen while a camper is still missing, refusing to accept responsibility, and “defiantly blaming this tragedy on ‘an act of God,'” — have only “deepened the pain” they feel.
Last month, Camp Mystic hired high-profile trial lawyer Mikal Watts to defend it pro bono against potential lawsuits.
“I believe deep in my heart that they had nothing to do with why those girls, and frankly their patriarch, died, and I’m ready to demonstrate that,” Watts told the Austin American-Statesman. “I could try this case tomorrow and convince a jury that this camp had nothing to do with why these girls died.”
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