(The Center Square) – The third lawsuit was filed in 24 hours against Camp Mystic, the all-girls camp in Hunt, Texas, where July 4 flood waters killed 25 campers and two counselors.
The lawsuits were filed by their parents against Camp Mystic, LLC, its owners, and affiliated entities alleging wrongful death, gross negligence and multiple other claims. They request a trial by jury.
They were filed in Travis County District Court because defendant Willetta Eastland resided in Travis County at the time the cause of action accrued and defendants Mystic Camps Family Partnership LTD and Mystic Camps Management, LLC maintain their principal places of business and offices in the county.
The first two lawsuits were filed Monday. The first was filed by Houston-based Yetter Coleman, LLP on behalf of the parents of five campers and two counselors; the second was filed on behalf of one camper’s parents by law firms based in Austin, Gilmer and Boerne.
The third was filed on Tuesday by Houston-based The Lanier Law Firm on behalf of the parents of six campers: Virginia “Wynne” Naylor, Hadley Hanna, and Jane “Janie” Hunt of Dallas; Lucy Dillon of Houston; Kellyanne Lytal of San Antonio; and Virginia Hollis of Bellville.
“This case is about accountability,” their attorney Mark Lanier said. “These six families entrusted Camp Mystic with the lives of their 8-and 9-year-old daughters, but the owners failed in every conceivable way. Unfortunately, it is now apparent that litigation is the only way to implement the changes to assure that no other child dies from the same preventable failures.”
The plaintiffs allege Camp Mystic’s management company, related entities and Eastland family members who’ve owned and operated the camp for decades acted with “negligence, recklessness, and gross negligence,” which directly led to the girls’ deaths.
The parents claim that without their knowledge, the defendants knowingly housed their daughters in cabins situated in a federally designated floodplain on a property with a history of catastrophic flooding dating to 1932. Located next to the Guadalupe River in a region known as “Flash Flood Alley,” Camp Mystic has long operated in a high-risk flood region in Kerr County.
In 2011, FEMA placed Camp Mystic in a “Special Flood Hazard Area” in its National Flood Insurance map. “Defendants not only had knowledge of this extensive history of severe, deadly floods, it experienced them and suffered damage from them. Nonetheless, Defendants concealed these facts from Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit alleges.
The other lawsuits make similar claims, pointing to the Eastland family petitioning FEMA to remove the floodplain designation. They allege they did so to avoid paying flood insurance and reduce insurance and other costs while also marketing the property as “safe.”
After multiple petitions, FEMA amended its floodplain map to remove 15 camp buildings in 2013, and another 15 structures in 2019 and 2020, according to federal records.
This lawsuit and others include maps of the camp’s Bubble Inn and Twins I & Twins II cabins where the youngest girls were housed within the 100- and 500-year floodplain and FEMA designated floodway along the Guadalupe River.
“Had Plaintiffs known that their daughters would be staying in cabins at Camp Mystic that were in floodplains, they would have never entrusted Wynne, Hadley, Virginia, Janie, Lucy, and Kellyanne in the care of Defendants,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit includes a detailed timeline of federal and state weather warnings including a National Weather Service “life-threatening” flash flood emergency issued at 1:14 a.m. on July 4 for Kerr County. It also includes a timeline of alleged action taken by the Eastlands, including securing equipment instead of evacuating the girls in the floodplain, and instructing counselors and campers to stay in their cabins as flood waters rose.
According to survivor testimony, some campers and counselors ignored the orders and escaped to higher ground and survived. The lawsuit describes the experience of those who didn’t:
“As the water rose within the Bubble Inn and Twins I & Twins II cabins, the terrified girls began climbing up the top bunk beds or treading water to try to keep their heads above water. As the pictures below from the Twins cabin illustrate, the water rose so close to the ceiling (5 3/4 inches) the girls ran out of air space and were tragically swept into the raging flood waters. Lucy Dillon did not make it out of the cabin where she lost her life.
“The flood waters ripped the children away from the roofs, doors, furniture, trees, and hands of each other into the raging river.”
The lawsuit lists examples of alleged negligence, recklessness and wrongful conduct, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to warn, and premises liability. It alleges the girls “experienced conscious pain and suffering, horrific pre-impact terror, and mental anguish as the floodwaters rose and they faced imminent death.” It seeks actual and exemplary damages.
The camp hasn’t responded to the lawsuits but its attorney has said the camp “failed no one.”
