The families of campers and counselors who died in the Hill Country Floods at Camp Mystic on July 4 have filed a lawsuit alleging gross negligence and reckless disregard for safety by the camp and its owners.
The lawsuit, filed in Travis County District Court, seeks accountability for what the families called an “entirely preventable tragedy” that claimed the lives of 27 campers and counselors.
READ THE FULL LAWSUIT HERE
The families bringing the suit include the parents of five campers and two counselors: Warren and Patricia Bellows, Blake and Caitlin Bonner, Matthew and Wendie Childress, Ryan and Elizabeth DeWitt, John and Andrea Ferruzzo, Ben and Natalie Landry, and Lindsey McCrory.
Attorneys Paul Yetter, Justin Tschoepe, Reid Simpson, and Shannon Smith of Yetter Coleman LLP in Houston represent the families.
According to the petition, Camp Mystic failed to adopt required evacuation plans and ignored repeated weather warnings, despite being located along the Guadalupe River in an area notoriously known as “Flash Flood Alley.”
“These young girls died because a for-profit camp put profit over safety,” the introduction to the lawsuit’s original petition read.
The filing also alleges that the camp ordered campers to remain in their cabins as floodwaters rose and delayed evacuation efforts to prioritize preventing equipment from flooding rather than saving campers. It goes onto say that the camp made a “hopeless” rescue effort from its “self-created” disaster when it was already too late to save many of the victims.
“We carry the memory of our daughter in everything we do,” said Ryan DeWitt, the father of 9-year-old camper Molly DeWitt said in a statement announcing the suit. “This legal step is one of honoring her, and we believe that truth and justice are essential to finding peace—not only for our family, but for every family affected.”
The lawsuit seeks actual and exemplary damages and aims to hold Camp Mystic accountable while pushing for stronger safety standards at Texas youth camps.
“Our clients have filed this lawsuit to seek accountability and truth,” Yetter said in the statement. “Camp Mystic failed at its primary job to keep its campers and counselors safe, and young girls died as a result.”
A second lawsuit against the camp was also filed and announced Monday by the parents of 8-year-old Eloise “Lulu” Peck.
“This was not an unforeseeable act of nature. What happened at Camp Mystic was preventable, and no parent should ever endure the pain of sending their child to a place of safety only to face tragedy,” said Attorney Randy Howry, who is among those representing the Peck family. “This lawsuit is about transparency, responsibility and ensuring no other family experiences what these parents have suffered.”
The plaintiffs in the second lawsuit are seeking damages exceeding $1 million under Texas law for wrongful death, survival claims, and exemplary damages intended to hold Camp Mystic accountable. The lawsuit also demands a jury trial and preservation of all evidence related to the incident.
“Today is a difficult but necessary step for our family. We’ve chosen to pursue legal action not out of anger, but out of love — love for our child, and for the truth and justice she deserves. We are asking for accountability, transparency and meaningful change so that no other parents have to endure this kind of loss,” said Tim Peck.
You can read the Pecks’ lawsuit below:
On Tuesday, another lawsuit was filed by the families of six girls who died at Camp Mystic.
The families of 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, Texas, filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Travis County District Court.
The families are being represented by The Lanier Law Firm out of Houston.
“This case is about accountability,” said attorney Mark Lanier. “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 filing also accuses the defendants of concealing the camp’s flood risk, citing FEMA maps that placed Camp Mystic within a “Special Flood Hazard Area.” Plaintiffs allege the Eastland family petitioned to remove cabins from floodplain designations to reduce insurance costs and continue marketing the camp as “safe.”
The lawsuit’s claims include liability for wrongful death, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and failure to warn. The filing seeks actual and exemplary damages, and policy changes to improve safety and emergency preparedness across Texas youth camps.
Camp Mystic released the following statement:
We continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for God’s healing and comfort.
Jeff Ray, legal council for Camp Mystic, also released this statement:
We empathize with the families of the campers and counselors and all families in the Hill Country who lost loved ones in the horrific and unprecedented flood of July 4. We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area. We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well. We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course.