Eight families whose children died in the July 4 Central Texas flood are suing Camp Mystic and its operators, accusing the camp of gross negligence, wrongful death and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
In all, 25 campers and two counselors died in the historic flooding. Among the claims in the lawsuit is that the camp took “no steps to protect campers and counselors when they knew a storm of life-threatening flash flooding was approaching.”
The lawsuit also claims that the camp operators instructed groundskeepers to relocate equipment for an hour instead of evacuating campers and counselors.
According to the lawsuit, families claim the deaths of the 27 campers at Camp Mystic were preventable and happened due to negligence.
The lawsuits were filed late Monday afternoon on behalf of the families of deceased campers Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Molly Dewitt, Lainey Landry, and Blakely McCrory and counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo.
The families are suing for actual and exemplary damages to be determined by the court following a trial by jury.
The parents of Eloise Peck filed a separate lawsuit on Monday against the camp, alleging negligence and gross negligence by the camp and its owners, asserting they knowingly operated in a high-risk flood zone and failed to take basic safety precautions to protect the children at the camp.
NBC 5 has reached out to representatives of Camp Mystic and is waiting for a response.
Multi-family v. Camp Mystic
Peck v. Camp Mystic