![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/4ESWT7FBRJGSHHXDA5GPZSBH2E.jpg?auth=3c367e1373012f6dab3369141ad97f044c6b2ca1c3f30e8253fb8f70b10f4c8f&quality=80&height=127&width=190&smart=true\")
<\/p>\nCamp Mystic and the family that runs the Christian girls summer camp have been accused of putting \u201cprofit over safety\u201d by the families of seven campers and two counselors who died in the July 4 Central Texas flood that killed 27 people.<\/p>\n
Three separate lawsuits were filed Monday in Travis County district court.<\/p>\n
In a 32-page lawsuit filed Monday afternoon, a set of families representing seven who died in the flood brought claims brought claims of negligence, premises liability, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death. The families are seeking more than $1 million in damages and have demanded a jury trial.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Camp chose to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins,\u201d the lawsuit alleges. \u201cThe 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 \u2018high, safe locations.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, Camp Mystic legal counsel Jeff Ray said that they \u201cempathize with the families of the campers and counselors who lost loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for God\u2019s healing and comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
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Separately, Timothy Peck and Melissa Peck, the parents of Eloise \u201cLulu\u201d Peck, who was 8 years old when she died, filed a separate 31-page lawsuit against Camp Mystic alleging negligence that seeks more than $1 million in damages and a demand for a jury trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no greater trust than when a parent entrusts the care of their child to another. Parents don\u2019t send their children to summer camp to die,\u201d the lawsuit reads. \u201cThey are told and trust that the camp will protect the child in their care and love the child as if it were their own. Camp Mystic (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the \u201cCamp\u201d) and the people who ran it betrayed that trust. Camp Mystic\u2019s shocking betrayal of that trust caused the horrific, tragic and needless deaths of twenty-seven innocent young girls, including Eloise \u201cLulu\u201d Peck. This case seeks accountability for that betrayal and to send a message to other camps \u2014 protect the kids in your care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
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Also on Monday, Douglas Getten and Jennifer Getten, whose 9-year-old daughter Ellen Elizabeth Getten died in the flood, filed a separate lawsuit against Natural Fountains Properties, Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management, Camp Mystic, Willetta Eastland, Edward Eastland, Mary Liz Eastland, Seaborn Stacy Eastland and William Neely Bonner III.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis case is being brought to seek justice, to demand accountability, and raise awareness regarding Camp Mystic and the defendants\u2019 actions and failures in the hopes that no parent has to ever suffer as Ellen\u2019s parents have, and that no child like Ellen has to ever die a horrific, traumatic, and preventable death at a camp again,\u201d the lawsuit reads.<\/p>\n
Plaintiff lawyer Mikal Watts, who told The Texas Lawbook in an interview in October that he would be representing the family that owns Camp Mystic pro bono, and that they would be his first defense client, did not respond to an email seeking comment late Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent three months conducting a thorough investigation, and I believe that facts matter,\u201d Watts said last month. \u201cThis was a flood of biblical proportions. This was preventable only one way \u2014 by deploying Texas tax money into modern river flood surge warning devices instead of the 70-year-old technology being used in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sirens never went off. The warnings never came,\u201d said Watts, who also owns property along the Guadalupe River about 12 miles from Camp Mystic. \u201cWe, as a state, failed those families. Those girls never had a chance.\u201d \u201cThere is no jury in America that will hold Camp Mystic responsible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The lawsuits against Camp Mystic are a result of the tragic events that occurred during the July 4 Central Texas flood. The families of the victims are seeking justice and accountability for the deaths of their loved ones. The cases will likely be closely watched as they make their way through the court system.<\/p>\n
Q: What happened at Camp Mystic?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: A flash flood swept through the camp, resulting in the deaths of 27 people, including campers and counselors.<\/p>\n Q: Who is being sued?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Camp Mystic, the family that runs the camp, and several other entities are being sued by the families of the victims.<\/p>\n Q: What are the lawsuits alleging?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: The lawsuits are alleging negligence, premises liability, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful death.<\/p>\n Q: How much are the families seeking in damages?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: The families are seeking more than $1 million in damages.<\/p>\n Q: What is the response from Camp Mystic?<\/\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Accusations of Putting Profit Over Safety at Camp Mystic Camp Mystic and the family that runs the Christian girls summer camp have been accused of putting \u201cprofit over safety\u201d by the families of seven campers and two counselors who died in the July 4 Central Texas flood that killed 27 people. Three separate lawsuits were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":16615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16613","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/AUD36UGOEJH6XDMD2J3ATLQ3UM.jpg?auth=fdf1ae74a65bf9042a7215e36daf144e7381690a38eef5f8d6267e18e70e054b&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16616,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16613\/revisions\/16616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}