Third lawsuit against Mystic filed on Monday, this one representing 6 campers

A third wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Camp Mystic on behalf of six families whose daughters died in the July 4 flood, bringing the total number of victims represented in civil litigation to 21 of the 27 people killed in the disaster.

The lawsuit, filed by Houston-based Lanier Law Firm in Travis County District Court, represents the families of Virginia Wynne Naylor, 8, Hadley Rebecca Hanna, 8, Virginia Larins Hollis, 8, Jane Marie Hunt, 9, Lucy Lee Dillon, 8, and Kellyanne Elizabeth Lytal, 8.

All six girls were housed in the Bubble Inn or Twins I and Twins II cabins — structures located in low-lying areas near the Guadalupe River that the lawsuit describes as being only 20 to 70 yards from higher ground where they could have survived.

The 34-page petition alleges camp leadership spent more than an hour securing equipment and property after receiving a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m., rather than immediately evacuating campers from the most vulnerable locations.

“Defendants initially focused first on saving their tools and equipment rather than evacuating eight and nine-year-old girls,” the lawsuit states.

The filing includes a detailed timeline showing that Dick Eastland and camp staff began “securing equipment around the property” at approximately 1:47 a.m. — 33 minutes after receiving the National Weather Service flash flood warning that stated the area was experiencing “life threatening flash flooding.”

According to the petition, evacuation of some cabins did not begin until approximately 2:30 a.m., and counselors in the fatal Bubble Inn and Twins cabins were initially instructed to remain in place despite rising water.

The lawsuit presents extensive evidence of the camp’s flood history, citing major flooding events in 1932, 1952, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987 and 1998. The 1932 flood washed away several cabins, while the 1978 flood required evacuation of more than 100 campers in the middle of the night.

Photographs included in the filing show water marks in the Twins cabin that reached within 5¾ inches of the ceiling, leaving virtually no air space for the girls trapped inside.

The petition also reveals that Camp Mystic successfully petitioned FEMA in 2013 to remove dozens of cabins from floodplain maps, which the plaintiffs allege “allowed Defendants to advertise that Camp Mystic’s facilities were ‘safe’ from a known flood risk” while avoiding flood insurance requirements.

A one-page “Emergency Instructions” document found in a counselor’s flooded trunk directed campers to stay in their cabins during floods, stating: “All cabins are constructed on high, safe ground” — a claim the lawsuit characterizes as “patently false.”

The families are seeking damages under eight causes of action: negligence, gross negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, failure to warn, premises liability, wrongful death, survival action and breach of fiduciary duty.

The lawsuit requests actual damages exceeding $1 million per family, plus exemplary damages for gross negligence.

Two other wrongful death lawsuits were filed earlier this week in Travis County District Court. One lawsuit filed in the 455th District Court represents five campers and two counselors. A separate lawsuit filed by Douglas Getten in the 459th District Court represents his daughter Ellen Elizabeth Getten and names two additional defendants: William Neely Bonner III and Seaborn Stacy Eastland.

All three lawsuits name Camp Mystic LLC, various related corporate entities and members of the Eastland family as defendants.

Attorney Mikal Watts, a plaintiff’s lawyer who lives in Mountain Home, has announced he will defend Camp Mystic pro bono, arguing that “the facts here demonstrate that this is one of those occasions where no one is to blame.” Watts contends the tragedy resulted from systemic failures in flood detection and warning systems rather than camp negligence.

The July 4 flood killed 25 campers, two counselors and camp co-owner Richard Eastland. One camper, Cile Steward, remains missing.

Camp Mystic has not publicly commented on the lawsuits beyond Watts’ statement defending the camp.